The wild horse mage knight
by sagitarius
Summary: It took just a single day for his life to change. It's finally time that Ranma learns the truth about his mother, father, and his real family obligations. "Ranma, to marry Akane is to plunge the world into chaos with that temper of hers." Not Ranma/Nodoka
1. Chapter 1

Okay, let me make this clear already so that we can get on with the story. The bulk of this fic takes place after the end of the Ranma ½ timeline, and 21 years after the Negima timeline. Also, for simplicity's sake, Negi had started out his teaching career at age fifteen, which means that he's the same age as the (former) girls of class 3A.

Also, if you want to know; this story was inspired by two other Ranma crossover stories that I read: 'Calm's sorrow', by Graysonpaladin, and 'Harry Potter and the Wild Stallion', by Eric Thorsen. I suggest you give them both a good read, but only after you've read this. If you read them now, you might just end up figuring out how this story will work.

Since I want to be a lawyer one day, I should probably say this: I don't own Mahou Sensei Negima or Ranma ½, this entire story was made simply for the heck of it and because the plot's been tearing at my head for the longest time.

**Prologue: Finally time**

The sound of a ringing phone blared throughout the halls as a woman walked over to answer. She was in her late thirties, but still kept the appearance of someone half her age; the traditional kimono she wore only managed to increase the effect. She picked up the phone, placing the receiver under her purple hair (1).

"Moshi moshi (2), Saotome residence, Saotome Nodoka speaking," she greeted calmly.

"Honya-chan, it's been a while hasn't it?" It didn't take long for her to remember that voice. "It's me, your 'sister-in-law', Haruna" the voice on the line said with clear sarcasm.

"Oh, Paru. My, it really has been a while, how've you been?"  
"Haha… oh you know, still the same and single. It really annoys me, to be honest."  
"Well… _maybe_ you'd have better luck if you weren't always so scary."

The humour in her tone was as clear as daylight, as was the smirk on her usually calm face. A face that soon turned solemn.

"So… I guess it's finally that time huh?" Nodoka asked, a mixture of seriousness, anxiety and hope in her voice.

"You got it; it's already been a full seventeen years next week, but the gates have finally re-opened. I already went and called Iincho; she's arranging a private flight for us to England." Haruna replied cheerfully, drawing a relieved sigh from her friend.

"I see. Well… I guess it's about time I set things right. It would do my son a lot of good to finally know the truth… after what that no good cousin of yours put him through." Nodoka walked towards a nearby cabinet as she spoke, pulling out a card from the inside.

Haruna laughed nervously over the phone at the mention of her cousin. "Uhh… yeah, I guess that's true. But hey, he was the only one stupid enough to think that Ranma actually was his son, we didn't have a choice." She knew it wouldn't be a good enough excuse, but it was all she had.

Nodoka simply let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm just glad I didn't actually need to have sex with that scum. Your art golems really did come in helpful for that," she said, twirling the card in her hand.

"Hahahahahaha… well, I try my best," she replied, "what really surprised me was that he didn't even notice that you were already two months pregnant the next day."

She continued on laughing; Nodoka joining in after a while, though in a much softer way. "I suppose I should be getting ready then? When do we leave for Wales then?"

"Iincho said that we should be at the airport by 9 PM tomorrow. If you're planning on bringing Ranma, then it would probably be a good idea to get him by morning."

"Hmm, yes… I suppose going for a visit tomorrow would be good." Pinching the card in her hand, Nodoka whispered a word she hadn't said in all of seventeen years.

"Adeat."

And with that one word, a bright glow resonated off of her card as it disappeared; a dark pink book taking its place. "Search the thoughts of the one I call: Saotome Ranma."

At her command, the once empty book slowly started to fill itself with writing. A rather childish picture of her son –grumbling as he walked through a dimly lit street from the looks of it, drew itself on top of the page.

_Darn that un-cute tomboy. Always hitting me with that damn mallet of hers. I didn't even do anything wrong, but would she believe me, noooooo. I've tried so hard to work things out between us, but ever since that stupid disaster of a wedding, things have only gotten worse._

_Sure, she still hit me, even before that, but now it's like she's just looking for reasons to get mad at me. I mean seriously; __**I**__ was the one taking a bath, then Akane just comes in, calls me a pervert, and then launch me into the air. And now, thanks to Air Akane, I end up in the middle of Juban._

_Hmm… now, if I remember right, this street is close to where mom lives. *sigh* Maybe she'll let me stay for the night. I really don't want to have to walk all the way home. Even if I ran, I'd probably get there late. Hn, and if I did, I'd probably only get hit with that mallet anyways._

Nodoka didn't know what to feel after she was done reading. On one hand, her son was probably going to come to her door, which meant that it would be easier to take her him with her. On the other hand, he was going there only because he was malleted there by Akane, something that she had seen happening a lot of times whenever she visited.

"_That's the last straw. I've been turning a blind eye to this for too long. It's about time to take down this act. I'm not going to let that spoiled little brat abuse my like this anymore." _She thought angrily.

Turning back to the phone in her hand, she remembered that her friend was still on the line. "Hey Paru, you still there?" she asked.

"Uh-huh, something come up? You were really quiet for a while there." A little bit of worry was clearly present as she answered.

"Well… I guess you could say… there's been a slight change in my plans. Do you think that you and Yue can spare a trip to Juban tomorrow? I may need both of your help."

"Oh, you want to call up the Biblio trio(3) for a meeting? This must be serious," Haruna said in a half serious, half joking tone. "Well, I'm taking a break from work right now, so it shouldn't be a problem for me. As for Yue, well… I think it better if you asked her. The two of you always were closer…… in more ways than one (4)." She added the last part with a teasing voice.

Nodoka's face flushed with anger as an unfitting scowl replaced her usual calm demeanour.

"Oh!... just call her up will you! I have something else I need to take care of." And with that, slammed the phone back to its place, just as a knock came from her door.

A serene smile once more found it's place on her face as she left to open it for her son. _"Seem like things are starting to change… and in the best way possible too."_

----X----

And there you have it, the prologue for my new story. It may not be much, but then again, it's just the beginning, the chapters will be longer after this. I'll try to update, ASAP. Meanwhile, see if any of you can guess what's going to happen. Make sure to give a review of your guess… or comment… or constructive criticism… or just so you can comment for that matter. Remember, many authors write faster with more reviews.

(1)- Just so you all know, Nodoka (Ranma's mother) was shown in the anime with purple hair. Tyrian purple to be exact (you never know what kind of things you'll learn if one of your friends is an art student).

(2)- This is how Japanese people say hello over the phone.

(3)-Biblio pretty much translates to books. It's a Latin word and quite frankly I think it fits better for a group of three mages.

(4)- For all the sick perverted minds out there, NO, it's not what you may think. Nodoka and Yue are not in that kind of a relationship

Till next time, again, Review please.


	2. Chapter 2

Well I didn't get as many reviews as I wanted, but hey that's how it goes. Still, at least five would have nice, but oh well. This is where the story really starts. Oh, and just a fair warning for the future, this story will also crossover with a few other anime/manga, maybe even a few games. If you really are an otaku, then you should know which group would most likely show up with the hint I gave last chapter.

There, now that that's out, let's begin. I don't own anything but the plot of this story, and even that was based off of two other stories.

**Chapter I: Ranma's test**

Ranma grumbled as he walked up the road to what had just now become his preferred home. Rubbing the top of his head where Akane had hit him. Although he wasn't really hurt anymore, the continuous mallet attacks still annoyed him.

"_It's like that tomboy actually wants to kill me."_ He halted his thoughts as he reached the front door. *sigh* _"oh well, might as well knock. I don't need mom thinking that I'm being unmanly by sneaking in like a coward."_

Just as his hand was inches from the door, it quickly swung open, his mother looking straight at him with a smile. "Oh… hello there Ranma, somehow, I knew you'd be coming here tonight. Where's your father? Is he with you?"

Ranma looked on, perplexed for a moment, before lowering his hand and going back to normal. "Umm… nope, it's just me. I was already in the neighbourhood, so I decided just stay here for the night rather than going back to the Tendo dojo, it is already pretty late. You… don't mind if I stay here do ya mom?" A sheepish grin was fixed upon his face, right hand scratching the back of his neck. _"Man, even for me that sounded cheesy."_

Nodoka looked at him for a second, a curious look on her face, before returning to a smile. "Oh, well of course I don't mind. Ranma, you should know that you're always welcome here."

The pig-tailed martial artist felt relief pass through him. _"Whew… thought for a second that she was going to ask why I was in Juban."_

"Although…" and then his relief sank. "Ranma, I'm curious; why exactly are you here Juban anyway?"

"_Aw dammit, I jinxed it. Gotta think of something fast. I can't tell her that Akane hit me all the way here. I can't even tell her that me and Akane had a fight" _"Uhh... a… a challenge! That's right, a challenge. Some guy sent a letter to me this morning saying that he wanted to fight me in Juban at sundown. He was actually pretty good; the fight lasted a few hours," he explained frantically.

"_I really don't wanna have to lie to mom, but I might end up getting killed if I don't."_

The look of understanding on his mother's face was all he needed to know that she believed him. "A challenge huh? And I'm guessing you won?" Ranma nodded. "That's my boy. You truly are a man amongst men!" she shouted cheerfully as she hugged her son.

"Come on in, I was just finished making dinner. I'm pretty sure that I made enough food for the both of us," she said, as she led the way inside.

---X---

"_He's obviously lying, that much I can tell, even without my artifact. Am I really that hard for him to open up to," _Nodoka thought as she released him from her hug. _"All the more reason for him to need to know the truth."_

They went straight to the dining room; Nodoka picking up her Diarium Ejus off a cabinet along the way. Ranma stared at the strange book for a moment, noting the ornate markings on the cover. He didn't know why, but he felt oddly wary of the book. It was as if it held a strong aura of power about it; extremely powerful, but greatly suppressed.

"So, how has it been between you and Akane lately? I haven't heard about anyone in Nerima since that wedding." Ranma was brought out of his musing at her words; his eye, twitching at the memory. He looked back up to his mother as she slid open the dining room door before moving her book so that she could read.

"Oh…… well actually, things have been great for us," he lied sheepishly as he sat down, "yep, chances are we might just be getting married next week. Maybe even tomorrow."

The cursed martial artist looked at his mother, expecting a happy and excited smile. What he got instead was Nodoka looking at her book with a deep frown, a heavy sigh following just seconds later.

"Ranma," she said, not taking her eyes off of the pages. "You're lying… aren't you?" Her tone sounded flat, but the sharp edge of the question was impossible to miss. Her eyes finally turning towards her son with a bored glare as he looked back at her; surprise, evident on his features.

The look of surprise soon melted into one of nervousness with a small amount of terror. "L… ly… lying? Wh… what do ya mean by that mom? M… me and Akane really are doing great." _"Oh boy, this doesn't look good. Darn it, how did she know I was lying? I can't be that bad of a liar can I?"_

Nodoka continued to glare at him with that bored face –imitating her old friend almost perfectly, before releasing another sigh and going back to her book after Ranma finished speaking.

_Oh boy, this doesn't look good. Darn it! How did she know I was lying? I can't be that bad of a liar can I? What'll she do when she finds out the truth? I don't think mom would like it if she found out that me and that tomboy always fought._

"_Hmmm… As I expected. He really is scared of me. Well… that's definitely one problem I'll need to fix later. But for now, I have to focus on getting him to agree to go to Wales."_

A few seconds of worrying later, Ranma heard a soft laugh come from his mother, the smile on her face indicating that she was simply joking. "I know… I know, I was only teasing Ranma. You really should learn to relax more. You always seem so nervous whenever I see you."

The young martial artist could only stare at his mother incredulously, _"Nervous? Who the hell wouldn't be nervous if they had a mother that would kill them for the smallest mistake."_

"Anyway, Ranma, is it alright if I ask you something?" Her son turned to her, curious.

"Huh? Well… yeah, I guess it'd be fine. What do you wanna know?"

The mixture of relief, curiosity and confusion on her son's face only served to make Nodoka chuckle at him. "Actually, it's more of a request dear. Tell me Ranma, would you like to take go on a trip to Wales?"

An confused gaze was all she received. For Ranma, the calm within his mother's voice was enough to convince him that she was being serious. _"But really, Wales? Isn't that country next to France or something? Why would she ask me to go there?"_

As the pig-tailed boy was about to voice his thoughts, Nodoka –now back to reading her book, had beat him to the punch. "Me and my old high school classmates are planning to have a two-week reunion starting the day after tomorrow you see. Our former class rep, being as successful as she is, managed to arrange a private flight for all of us to Wales; that was where our former homeroom teacher used to live. I only ever got to tell them about you, and I've already seen each of their kids. I guess you could say that I want to be able to finally introduce you to them."

Ranma relaxed a little at her explanation, but still held a little disbelief. "Gee mom… I don't know. I mean sure, I guess I wouldn't mind going there for a while. But then I'd end up missing on some major training. Uh… not that it's more important or anything, it's just that… well… *sigh*. And besides, there's still the whole fiancé matter to take care of," he reasoned.

Nodoka, smiled brightly back at him. "Well that shouldn't be much of a problem. Ranma, if you want, I can ask some of my old friends to give you some training in their styles." She paused. "And besides, only three of my old friends actually had boys. The rest of them are all girls, and most are at your age too. I'm sure that they'll be enough to satisfy you till we get back."

That was all it took. The mere mention of being surrounded by girls –and a lot of them from the sound of it, most of which were as old as he was, made Ranma's face turn pale.

"_Hahahaha… I may not like the whole 'proud playboy's mother' façade, but seeing him act so much like his father did, definitely makes it all worth it."_ Nodoka thought, giggling at her son's expense.

Meanwhile, Ranma was practically hyperventilating at the news. _"What-do-I-do? What-do-I-do? She already said that some of her old friends can give me some training, so I can't say no. If I do, then she'll find out that it's because of all the girls. Mom'll probably see that as being 'unmanly', and then pull out that seppuku contract again. But if I do go, I'll probably end up getting killed by those girls during our trip anyway. Hell, with my luck, I'll probably be engaged to one of them too."_

Before he could think up a solution, the cursed martial artist was once again broken from his thoughts.  
"I see…… so you don't want to go with your mother, do you Ranma?" Nodoka asked, her son now turning to her with very nervous face.

"Uhh… it… it's not that I don't want to go. It's just that…"  
"There would be too many girls your age than you'd be comfortable with?"  
"Uhh… we… well…"  
*sigh* "Ranma, be honest with me. You're scared of being around so many girls, aren't you?"

Knowing he probably couldn't win this argument, Ranma simply settled for a reluctant nod, waiting for the inevitable Saotome honour blade to appear. But it never did, instead, all he got was a calculating stare from his mother.

"Hmm… alright, since that's the case… let's compromise. I'll give you a little test; if you pass, you can chose whether you will go or not, but if you fail, then I will. Does that sound reasonable?"

Ranma was again surprised for the umpteenth time that night. Not only was his mother not reaching for the family sword due to him acting 'unmanly' as she always put it, but she was actually giving him a choice. That was something he found he was rarely ever given.

Feeling confident that he could pass easily; the surprise and confusion on his face was replaced with a smug smirk.

"Heh, sure mom, hit me. I can take on any challenge that ya throw no problem." Nodoka could practically feel the confidence rolling off her son, her own smirk now in place. _"Hook, line and sinker. I have to admit, I may not like how Genma raised my son, but sometimes, the gullibility that comes with it can be helpful."_

Ranma saw his mother nod her head at him, the grin she held unnerving him a little. "Alright then, let's go to the backyard, that should make you test easier." And with that, she walked out of the dining room, book still in hand.

---X---

Nodoka didn't have to wait long for her son to follow. The sky was cloudy, leaving the light from inside as the only source of illumination. Being so late at night, the silence that permeated the darkness came as no surprise. Even the fish in the nearby koi pond dared not to make a noise.

As soon as they reached the middle of the yard, Nodoka turned around, her expression clearly serious. "Alright then Ranma, do you really think you're ready for this? I highly doubt you'll pass."

Ranma felt a twinge of annoyance at his mother's words, clearly offended, before shaking the feeling off. "We'll see about that," he said, a clear smugness in his voice, "what do I have to do?"

Silence followed after as Nodoka stared dauntingly into her sons eyes, leaving a rare feeling of intimidation up his spine. The smirk that followed didn't help at all.

"Your test Ranma," she started, turning around completely, her tone, as calm and clear as ice, "is to beat me in a fight. If you can knock me down for longer than a second… then I'll let you decide whether you go or not."

Ranma stood where he stayed, eyes as wide as dinner plates and mouth gaping like a fish. Shock was all that ran threw him after digesting those words.

It was nearly a minute before he finally regained his composure. "F… fi… fight… y… you?" though whoever would say completely is fool. "That's supposed to be my test? You're kidding right! I can't do that."

An eyebrow rose in curiosity on his mother's face, a hint of disappointment on her features. "Oh… and why is that Ranma? Is it because you think I'm weak? That I wouldn't be able to fight? Or is it perhaps because you actually believe that idiot, Genma's sexist ideas?" she asked, a hint of anger in her tone.

The apprehension in the pig-tailed martial artist grew at her question. His mind scrambling to find a good enough answer. "Uhh… no, it's nothing like that. It's just that… well, you're my mom, it just wouldn't be right. And most of all, you're not even a martial artist so I'll just end up winning easily. I'd only feel like I cheated if I passed this test." Which of course, him being THE Ranma 'foot-in-mouth' Saotome, will never be able find one.

The killing intent (I don't care if this isn't Naruto, I will have KI in this story) that rolled off of Nodoka after hearing that was palpable enough to be felt even by untrained senses. Ranma was having a hard time standing up from the sheer pressure and would have surely fallen had it been directed at him.

Meanwhile, in the guestroom of the Tendo dojo, Genma Saotome felt his danger senses flare to life just as he was getting ready for bed. Shuddering, his eyes darted to all possible directions, attempting to find the threatening presence that wished to do him harm. _"Damn it! Where has that honourless son of mine gone off to! I'm sure he's responsible for whatever's trying to kill me. Why the hell isn't he here to take the punishment!"_

And for once, the old, panda-cursed thief was right about his ramblings. Nodoka's anger only kept growing as she continuously re-read her son's thoughts through the Diarium Ejus.

_Well I guess I can't just say that I can't fight a lady, she'd probably just get offended by that, and then where would I sleep? And she won't even be able to fight back, even with the Saotome honour blade. That thing was about as useful in her hands as Akane's food in my stomach!_

"So… are those only reasons? I hate being lied to you know?" Ranma nodded hesitantly, causing Nodoka to give a heavy sigh. "Well… it doesn't matter. You already said you'd take the test, and a man amongst men will always keep his words. So just get ready," she commanded.

No movement followed her words as they both stood. A great tension hanging in the air, as a loud silence passed over them. "Well?..."

Finally, with great hesitation, Ranma proceeded to get into a stance. It was more to show that he was ready to begin rather than to get ready for an actual fight; the sloppiness of his posture was enough to give that fact away.

Nodoka –following her son's actions, tossed her book towards a nearby sakura (1) tree before pulling out an odd earpiece. Putting it in place, she moved her arms to the front of her chest, forming in X with her fore-arms.

"Alright then sochi(2), seeing as you're ready to fight, allow show you one of the first things that you'll be able to learn if you go with me."

As she ended her short speech, an aura unlike anything Ranma had ever felt(3) began surrounding her as she absorbed them into her being. The wind began swirling lightly around her as Nodoka threw her hands open with a shout: "Cantus Bellax!"(4)

---X---

Aaaaand cut! Well, that's a wrap my dear readers, I'm afraid the fight scene's going to have to wait till next time. Believe me, it wasn't an easy decision to make, but with the finals in just a week's time, I wasn't quite sure when I'd be able to update next. Besides, I already had half of this ready when I published the first chapter. If I get enough reviews, I might just try to squeeze in another one by Thursday, so make sure to comment. Also, I'm kind of a little indecisive about who I should have paired with Ranma. Akane is obviously out, but there's still Ukyo and Shampoo to think about (no way Am I doing Kodachi), not to mention Nabiki and Kasumi (in case of the off chance that you get confused, this is definitely not the Negimaverse Kasumi). Not to mention the various mentioned daughters of the Mahora girls (though not all of them will be available, try to guess why). They'll all have similar personalities and talents as their parents, so just think of them as OOC versions the original characters.

I highly doubt that you don't know this already, but sakura means cherry blossom. It's so common in anime and manga that it's nearly impossible to know if you're a fan.

Sochi literally means 'My son'.

As far as I'm concerned, Ranma never fought anybody that ever used magical energy (will be referred to as mana, the namesake of the Tatsumiya priestess).

If you haven't read that far into the manga yet or if you just forgot about the scene, there was actually one panel which hinted that Nodoka had managed to learn –or at least was interested, in augmentation magic. It would only make sense that she would know the Cantus Bellax (battle hymn) spell 21 years later if that were the case.

Well, make sure to review now, you might just see their fight earlier if you do. See ya.


	3. Chapter 3

Well in the very least at least the last one got six actual reviews in (I'm not counting a certain someone's one word nonsense), so as a reward, I have here one more chapter before my finals. Don't expect anything till the 15th, and maybe not even after that, I'm going on a 2 week family reunion after the 15th, so I may not have time to write even then. I'll promise to get one up after that though.

I'd like to thank all my precious readers for adding this to their favourites' list; I hope I can live up to your expectations. And also, I may have mentioned to one of my reviewers, (I won't say who since I can't really remember if I said so or not) that the main cast from Nerima would be showcased in this chapter, sadly, that will not be the case. However, while I'm certain that many of you have figured out the main plot concerning Ranma, you probably didn't expect what I have in stored for you guys later. Also, it would seem that I have to cut this short of the revelation scene where Ranma learns the truth about his family (stupid finals).

Oh… and uhh, yeah, I don't own any of the characters in this story save for the next generation class 3A (who, thanks to a good suggestion, won't be fully made up off of OC characters anymore) and other OCs that I deem necessary.

P.s- I know that Nodoka, at this point, may seem a bit like a Mary-sue to some readers out there, but rest assured that it only seems like that for the first few (this probably being the last one) chapter.

**Chapter II: Lessons and surprises**

Last time…

"Alright then sochi, seeing as you're ready to fight, allows me to show you one of the first things that you'll learn should you go with me."

As she ended her short speech, an aura unlike anything Ranma had ever felt began surrounding her as she absorbed them into her being. The wind began swirling lightly around her as Nodoka threw her hands open with a shout: "Cantus Bellax!"

-X-

The mini tornado circling Nodoka burst outwards into strong gale, forcing Ranma to cover his face from the dust and wind. As he lowered his guards, the he could only stare in shock and awe at his mother. The aura of power that surrounded her, while not too strong in itself, held a certain feel to it that sent a shiver down his spine. It was as if a part of his mind had feared the odd energy. (1)

His mother slid into an, oddly enough, familiar stance. Legs leaning slightly inwards, knees bent; right leg to her forward and left leg turning towards the side. Her torso was turned with the right hand outstretched, left hand pulled back near her frame with the arm bent in front of her abdomen; both palms open.(2)

"_Is that a… Chinese Kenpo stance? When'd mom learn that?"_ Ranma thought in confusion before quickly shaking it off, _"well, at least someone I know suddenly learning some sort of new technique or style that I haven't seen them ever use before is normal."_

With that thought, Ranma returned to his previous stance, more serious than before. While it was still far from perfect, it still showed that he was no longer going to take his mother for granted. _"Still, I can't just go all out. I may have been wrong about mom not being a martial artist, but I'm sure I can still knock her down easy."_

"Grr… Ranma, that overconfidence of yours is going to kill you," Nodoka growled to herself, though Ranma was still able to hear it. "I don't mean to sound like your father, but it looks like I'm going to have to teach you a few lessons." This time, her voice was loud and clear for everyone to hear.

And with a silent signal, Nodoka kicked off the ground, a sudden blur going behind him was the only thing he saw (3). "First lesson! Never **ever** underestimate your opponent!" she shouted, driving an elbow to his back, sending him sailing forward.

Coming out of his stupor at the strike, Ranma righted himself in mid-air and kicked off of the wall he was heading to. He rocketed towards the older woman; his right arm cocked back, fists closed. But rather than punching her, he, instead, shot the punch downwards, going into a forward roll before quickly sending out a swift sweep kick.

Hoping to catch his mother off guard with the feint, it took Ranma by surprise when she stomped down on his leg, stopping the attack in its tracks and causing pain to shoot up his body. Capitalizing on the short distraction, Nodoka jumped forward using her other foot, before angling it forward, aiming her knee to his face.

Ranma barely had enough time to duck down before she sailed over him, landing near the wall. Performing a fast handspring, he got back to his feet before getting into his stance once more, holding back even less.

This time it was Ranma who charged, going in with various punches and kicks, but not even one met it's mark. The ones that did hit, which were few in number, were grazing shots at most, as his mother kept dodging the assault.

Getting frustrated, the young martial artist went in for another feint, this time going from a leg-sweep to a reverse roundhouse kick. But once again, Nodoka simply caught the foot in her hand before hitting him with a palm strike to the chest.

Recovering from the strike, Ranma leapt backwards, near the pond, recovering some of his lost breath. _"Darn it. I didn't expect mom to be this good. Guess she was right about that whole 'never underestimate your opponent' thing."_

As he caught his breath, the cursed boy saw a smile cross his mother's lips. "Good… I see you've taken your first lesson into consideration. I suppose that's all I can hope for, for now."

Ranma's right eyebrow rose at her statement, an ever-growing curiosity bubbling up inside of him. _"Huh?… okay, now I know something weird is going on here. The weird way mom's been acting the entire night, she's acting a bit like that mind reading kid… what was his name? Sotari or something like that? Bah, whatever, if mom really can read minds, then I'm in major trouble."_

As those thoughts flowed into her son's mind, Nodoka could only keep smiling as she heard all of it from her earpiece. _"So… Ranma's finally starting to realize it huh? I guess it's time for the next one then."_

"Alright sochi, seeing as the first lesson's gotten through to you, here's your next one: Don't ever expect your opponent to fight fairly. Anything and everything you bring to a fight is a weapon, and using them in any way is always fair. Honour is important, but not everyone will uphold it."

And with that, Nodoka rushed him, running this time, but still at an incredible speed. She went in with strike after strike as Ranma defended himself, blocking each of her attempts at hitting him. It wasn't long till the pig-tailed boy started to throw punches of his own, once again, with his mother easily intercepting or dodging them.

They continued exchanging blows for a few minutes before both Saotomes (though Nodoka was irked at being acknowledged as such) jumped back. Taking deep breaths as they stood, staring the other down.

"_Okay, so mom has the strength, speed and the senses of a martial artist, but her skills don't seem to match up with her power, which is odd enough. But what did she mean with that second lesson? The fight got easier for me when I accepted the first one, so it should be easier if I understand this one. What does it all mean?" _Ranma asked himself.

Nodoka could only let loose a light laugh at her son's expense. "Having trouble figuring things out dear? Here's a little hint, don't just think of the first statement; every detail is important in order to answer all possible questions, whether it's in a fight or a puzzle. That's lesson number three."

Once more, Ranma's eyebrow rose in curiosity, _"every detail is important eh? Alright then, let me think. Mom said that anything and everything you bring to a fight is a weapon; but all she brought with her was that book," _he turned towards the tree where the book was under, _"that book has been there since before this started, how could she have used it as a weapon?"_

He turned back to his mother, seeing her still breathing hard. _"Alright, I still have some time. She also said that using the weapons in any way is fair, that means that weapon's can be used in different ways. If she can somehow use that book to help her fight, then she must have thrown it there for a reason. If I can just get to it, then maybe… alright, I'll do it."_

With renewed vigour, Ranma ran towards the book, hoping to get there before his mother did. Surprisingly, all she did was stand right where she was, a hidden smile on her face, filled with pride and joy.

Reaching the book, he quickly made a grab for it, turning back around towards his mother warily, yet all she did was stand there. Hesitantly, the raven haired young man opened the first page of the book and started reading. It only took a moment before his steel blue eyes widened in shock.

He recognized each word. Every single sentence was something that he had said to himself earlier that night. He skimmed through them, line after line, remembering himself thinking all the things that were written on its pages, the fight completely forgotten.

Having enough, he quickly searched for the last written page, and sure enough, he saw his recent thoughts recorded there as well, with the new ones being written each second.

Ranma kept staring at the book with mixed emotions of wonder and awe before the gentle laugh of his mother cut him off from his thoughts (don't know if that's a an irony or a pun, either which way it still made me crack up). "I see you've discovered my second most precious treasure, good job."

"But of course, this doesn't mean you've won. Search the thoughts of the one I call: Nodoka!"

At that moment, the book in Ranma's hands turned blank as the words faded. "Turn to the first page sochi," his mother asked, though it felt more like a command. He immediately obliged.

_Good job on finding my secret weapon Ranma, you managed to understand two thirds of the second lesson, too bad about the last one though._

His face darted to his mother's in confusion and wariness. She wore a devious smile on her face that simply felt misplaced on her features, as two words left her mouth: "Nebula Hypnotica"(4)

Without a warning, the book in Ranma's hands suddenly glowed an odd bluish white light as he held it, before releasing a bright flash and a light fog. The pig-tailed youth suddenly felt a drowsiness overcome him as he breathed in the mist, before he fell asleep on his side.

-X-

The next morning

Ranma woke from his slumber to the sound of shuffling feet. Rising up onto a sitting position, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as a soft groan escaped his mouth. _"Ohh… my head hurts. What happened last night?" _he thought, as his other hand rubbed the back of his head.

Looking around him, he found himself in a room he hadn't yet seen before. Rather than the usually larger guest room, Ranma was inside a smaller bed room. Light seeped through the window as it reached his face. Getting up from the futon he was on, Ranma's mind went on high alert as he tried to remember where he was.

"_Okay, there's no naked girl on my bed, it's safe to say that I'm not in Shampoo's or Kodachi's place. I can't smell any pancakes and it's around ten in the morning, on a holiday so this isn't Ukyo's either. In that case, where the hell am I?"_

As Ranma continued his mental distress, the door to his room slowly slid open, the curious face of a young girl poking inside. Turning to the noise in worry, his body grew pale at the sight of her, expecting either an act of extreme affection (Amazonian style glomp tackle or overdramatic love proclamation) or anger (AKA Akane style, airborne rendering attack; mallet is optional but likely).

The girl looked to be about his age, though admittedly very short, at least, probably a few inches shorter than his girl form. Her body wasn't too developed, though she was still more shapely than Akane. Her dark magenta hair was divided into three parts, reaching the small of her back. The sides of her face was framed by bangs that formed into braids at her shoulders.(5)

She wore a simple set of clothes. Light green, cotton, long-sleeve shirt and a knee-length sky-blue skirt with what appeared to be navy-blue, crescent moon prints.(6)

Her face held an expression of calm and indifference, but the curiosity in her deep brown eyes was impossible to miss. She blinked once… twice… three times, before speaking: "You… must be aunty Nodoka's son, Ranma, right?" he nodded in response, only now remembering his current whereabouts.

"My name's Ayase Yume, it's nice to meet you," she said in a neutral tone. A loud silence was all that followed as the two stared at each other; one in a mixture of relief and suspicion, the other with a blank stare.

The awkward silence remained until the newly named Yume finally broke it, "so… are you really cursed to turn into a girl?" with a nice face fault on Ranma's part of course.

After picking himself up off the floor, Ranma turned his eyes towards the still neutral faced girl, now standing at the room's entrance. "Okay, how do you know about that? And what the hell are you doing here?" he asked in frustration. His mind still trying to remember the previous night's events.

Yume stared at him, her expression remaining the same. "Your mother told us about it. She also asked us to come over. It sounded like something pretty serious, but then again, I wouldn't really know. They sent me out after a while," she explained, a frown on her previously emotionless face. "They said that they'd rather tell it to both of us instead of repeating themselves. I've been waiting till you got up ever since"

Confusion was eminent on Ranma's face at her explanation. His mind was much the same way, though there was also a hint of betrayal lingering in his head from what his mother did. _"Great… thanks a lot mom, why'd you have to do that? Get another fiancé used to my curse… or… something?… SHIT! She just said that our parents needed to talk to us about something! Don't tell me that this girl's another fiancé! I already have enough trouble as it is already!"_

Yume could only watch awkwardly as Ranma continued to panic. While she, much like her mother, rarely showed any emotions when not around those she was close to, Yume still couldn't help but let loose a small giggle at the look of dread on the pig tailed martial artist's face. She wasn't a sadist, mind you, but the look on his face was simply priceless to her.

The sound of Yume's soft laughter brought Ranma out of his fear filled musing as he glared at the shorter teen. It could only last for so long though as a smile soon crossed his face at the sight of her. He didn't know why, but seeing her like that made him feel content.

"Well it seems that the both of you are getting along. Hopefully not too much though, that would make things real troublesome."

The two teens turned towards the new voice outside of Ranma's room. Just outside the room stood a woman, looking to be in her late twenties. She had brownish green hair that cascaded all the way to her knees, a trio of bangs framed her face, forming an 'M' shape while another, longer pair went down to her chest; two long protrusions poked up at the top of her head like a pair of antennas. Standing at a little over six feet, her build was something that many women would kill to have.

Her tall frame was complemented by a slim waistline that hinted at a good amount of exercise. She had a well endowed chest and wide hips. Her clothes consisted of a red, long-sleeved, button-up shirt under a tight, beige, sleeve-less jacket; a black pleated skirt reaching just a few inches below her knees, a pair of rimless glasses rested on her nose.(7)

None of these things caught Ranma's attention though. No, it was the smirk on her face that he took most notice of. To a normal person, they may have seemed rather ordinary, but to anyone from Furinkan High, it would have sent a chill down their spines. That very same smirk was one that was usually found on none other the ice queen of Nerima, Tendo Nabiki. But somehow, the feeling that this woman gave off was far more frightening.

The hidden predatory gleam in her eyes was not lost on Ranma as she approached them. "Aunt Haruna. Are you three finally done? Since Ranma-san is already awake, I think it's about time you told us what you were talking about earlier." Yume had a look of apprehension on her face as she asked Haruna, curiosity having gotten the best of her.

Haruna could only laugh at the girl's impatience as she approached. "Heheheh… don't be so impatient Yume-chan. We'll tell you both everything that you need to know. But for now, why don't you let me talk to your new friend over there," she said as she walked past Yume.

Ranma stood staring at the woman now in front of him, unsure of what to think. In most situations, he'd be extremely worried, as, in the usual case for him, being very close to women, especially ones that were considered attractive, always lead to someone getting very angry, which in turn lead to a fight where someone gets injured. And in many (most of which recent) cases, ended up skipping the fight and going straight to pain via the impending mallet of doom. However, as far as how everything had been happening since coming to his mother's home, nothing had ever gone like they normally did.

The shark-like toothy smile that spread across her didn't help his uneasiness any. "So… your Ranma huh? I haven't seen you since you were a little baby. You've certainly changed quite a lot. And I also hear that you got yourself an interesting curse."

The caring manner at which she spoke came as a big surprise for Ranma. He was expecting something more like Nabiki's emotionless mercenary tone, but instead got a voice that seemed to carry a wild excitement about it.

"Oh… I almost forgot. Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Saotome Haruna, your godmother and one of the world's best manga artist and writer as well as the creator of the world famous Mahora Magister Magi series(8)!… oh, and I'm also Genma's cousin."

After that, Ranma's head had started spinning. It was like with every passing minute, something new would pop out of nowhere to surprise him. By the time that he had recovered enough to talk himself, Yume had already lost her patience. "Come on aunt Haruna, you've already introduced yourself. Can we just go back to the dining room now? I want to know what on earth it was that you, mom and aunt Nodoka were talking about!" she said eagerly.

Haruna gave the girl her usual grin as she turned to her. "Alright alright… let's go downstairs. I'm pretty sure both of your mothers are waiting as well," she instructed as she moved towards the stairs, Yume trailing up behind her. It didn't take long for her to notice that Ranma still remained as he was, trying to sort out his mind.

Stopping for a moment, Haruna looked towards Ranma's unmoving form. "Come' on Ranma-kun, you need to hear this too!" the commanding tone in her voice was unmistakable as she shouted, instantly prompting Ranma to follow.

And with that, our hero soon joined them; unaware of the revelation that would change his life forever.

-X-

Yeah, I know, 'what a cheesy ending'. That's what all of you are thinking right? Or am I just being too paranoid. Bah… whatever, either which way, I don't really care. I hope that all of you enjoyed this chapter. And again, I'm sorry for having to cut it short like this, I didn't want to, believe me. But anyway, moving on, let's get some things cleared up shall we. Here's the list of things you might not get the gist of (the ones I want you to know anyway) from this chapter.

The energy that Nodoka released is magic energy, which is also the energy that caused Ranma's curse. His instincts react towards magic (actual magic) the same way that the body acts towards a virus. This will only happen if the user intends on fighting Ranma. This is the same reason he felt wary of the towards the Diarium Ejus.

This is a stance I've seen Ku Fei use in the manga before. While Nodoka is far from a master of the style, her enhanced physical capabilities, along with Ranma's reluctance to go all out, allowed her to fight that long. She also uses a few moves that are built more on common defensive acts (i.e. hitting a crouching opponent with a knee strike to the face) when fighting.

In case you didn't really get it, what Nodoka used here is the Shundo. However, instead of using ki (which she knows nothing about controlling, just so you know) she substitutes it for magic energy (which from now will be referred to as mana. Please do not confuse with actual character). However, as the technique wasn't built for use with mana, the Shundo she performed was much slower.

For the list of actual spells used in the continuation, go to my profile. The incantation was cast while Ranma was reading his thoughts, and then delayed.

While reading the manga, I noticed two things. The first of those was that Yue from Negima and Hisami from R.O.D, have similar appearances (not surprising as their original designers were the same). Yume's hairstyle looks mostly like Hisami's minus the ribbons.

The moon prints are a play on Yume's name, which means dream. She also prefers the night to day.

The second thing I noticed was that Haruna shared some similarities to Yomiko from R.O.D (though to a much lesser extent than Yue and Hisami). Likewise, Haruna's usual outfit consists of an altered colour scheme version of Yomiko's.

Basically, Haruna retold all of Class 3A's lives after Negi arrived into a manga, netting as many buyers as the actual manga managed to do.

-X-

Character corner: Ayase Yume  
(will be used for new characters and, if asked for, changes in characteristics of the Mahora girls)

Age- 16  
Hair colour- Magenta, but closer to blue  
Eye colour- Brown  
Height-5'9

Parents: Ayase Yue (mother), yet to be debuted father.

Likes- Eschatology (study of things which aren't understood), philosophy, mysticism, anything generally magic related or close to it.

Dislikes- Books, being kept from finding out something she is interested in or curious about.

Trivia-

Despite all of her mother's attempts at making her enjoy books just as much as she has, Yume simply doesn't take an interest in them.

She gets her usually neutral personality from her mother, however, she is more easily riled up when compared to Yue. (though still remains calmer than most others)

Her first name means dream (implying fantasy), which conflicts with the meaning of Yue's name, which means reason (implying reality). This conflict is personified in their opinion on books.

-X-

And there you have it. The third edition to 'The wild horse mage knight'. Will Ranma's new love interest be Yue's own daughter? Or will it be someone else? Only I know the answer and you'll all find out sooner if you review (Though it still won't come up before the 15th, but still). Ciao!


	4. Chapter 4

Surprise! I have good news for all my readers. Thanks to my infinite awesomeness as an author, and the fact that I get a break at studying on Fridays, (yes, even during the finals), I was actually able to finish this chapter after just my break day and part of the one and a half hours I get every day to use my computer during exam time. And if I get enough reviews, I might just decide to try and pull it off again. Of course, I'm going to need at least… ohh… 10-15 reviews for that, preferably more, but still, just that much is fine. Remember, I'm open to any suggestions that you may have, flames will be extinguished, comments rewarded and nonsense, ignored. (In other words, non-constructive criticism and stuff that I just can't make any heads or tails out of will simply be completely ignored)

Once again: I don't own anything that has to do with Ranma1/2, Mahou Sensei Negima, or any other aspects and/or characters from other manga and anime that I may squeeze into the story. All I own is the plot and most of the next gen Mahora students.

Let's get this party started!

**Chapter IV: Revelations**

In the dining room…

"It's hard to believe that it's already been seventeen years hasn't it, ne Yuekichi?" Nodoka asked in a genuinely cheerful voice, the woman sitting across from her nodding in agreement.

"True… though I am quite certain that everybody else is happy about it. In six days, it'll be a full twenty two years since the last activation of the Sacratus Duodecimus (1)."

Yue, much like Nodoka, had grown quite a lot in the past seventeen years since the Ala Alba had parted ways. Gone was the diminutive, immaturely bodied girl, now replaced with a well-formed and boatful woman. Her hair was no longer split in at the back, letting it run smoothly behind her, reaching down to her knees with the same bluish-purple sheen as before.

She had grown taller too; going from the short height of four feet, six inches to around five and half feet. Her figure had become more shapely; with a generous bust size, slim waist and well-rounded hips. She was garbed in a sky-blue dress and a matching skirt that stopped just below the knees, a white blouse over her top. The usual gear one would expect from a librarian.

"Yeah… I can still remember how that whole incident with Chao's 'reveal magic to the world' plan," Nodoka said, a smile forming on her lips as she reminisced about long passed festival. "Come to think of it… that was the very first time that the Ala Alba all worked together wasn't it?"

Yue nodded, a smile of recollection on her own features. "Uh-huh, even though the Ala Alba was only formed later, that was still the very first time that all of us founding members had had a part in a major magical incident. Definitely something one won't easily forget."

She stopped right there, taking a sip of her tea, not noticing the mischievous glint in her best friends eyes. "Hmm… you say that, and yet… weren't _you_ the one that completely forgot it? And after just a few months at that," teased the elder of the two(2).

Yue very nearly choked on her drink upon hearing that, coughing lightly afterwards. She stared at Nodoka with a pout on her face, eyes narrowed towards the innocently laughing woman. Before long, the pout on Yue's face left, being replaced by her own set of laughter.

"How many times have I told you not to bring that back up?" the shorter of the two asked, still laughing lightly. It took the pair of bibliomancers(3) some time to finally quiet down. Yue once again looking at her old friend, a hint of worry in her eyes. "You've really changed a lot… compared to the Nodoka I knew from our school days."

All the amusement on Nodoka's face left her as she heard that, her expression changing into one of sadness. "Well… a lot things change in such a long time. It's only natural." Her words held a deep depression in them, as her head bowed down to the side; her eyes, staring longingly at something that wasn't there, knowing full well what was to follow.

Yue's face too, grew solemn. She reached out her hand to comfort her friend, rubbing Nodoka's arm gently. "Still feeling guilty about it huh?" she nodded, "you really shouldn't, you know? Nobody blames you for what happened; not me, not Haruna, no one. All of us understood what had to be done, and one of us would have done it eventually, you were just the first one to act, one way or another, it still would've happened. There's no need to feel bad about the past."

Calming down a little at her friends voice, the mind reader raised her head to look at the former valkyrie, a large amount of guilt still present in her eyes. "I know Yue… it's just that… well… I still can't forgive myself for forcing Ranma to go through the life that he did. Having to be raised by that fat excuse of a human being, getting engaged to a bunch of girls that only want him as a trophy. Yue, it was bad enough that I separated him from his true father, but I actually let him get taken away from me by that bastard of a panda!"

By that time, Nodoka had already started getting teary-eyed as she let loose seventeen years worth of guilt. Yue could only try her best to console her friend as she started to weep. "Nodoka…" she called pleadingly, "come on now, you can't cry at a time like this. If anything, this is when you need to be your strongest. From what you've told us about Ranma's life, he's already suffered many times because decisions were made for him without his consent. If you don't show him that everything we did truly was for his own good, that it was all unavoidable, then you may very well lose his trust completely."

Slowly, the tears flowing from the mind reader's eyes came to a stop as she regained her composure. Giving out a deep sigh, she steadied her posture, getting ready for what was to come.

-X-

Ranma walked alongside Yume towards the dining room, his godmother right in front of them, leading the way. As they walked into the room, he sent a curious look to his mother, hoping to get answers, but as he cast his gaze on her face, he quickly relented. It was easy to see from her face that she had been crying, and he had no intention of making it worse.

Once all three of them had been settled, a woman –his mother's friend from what he guessed– turned to him; the calm and near completely emotionless look on her face easily giving her away as Yume's relative. _"Probably her mother or something. *sigh* I just hope that all this isn't what I think it is."_

A barely noticeable smile appeared on face as she looked at him. "Well now… I must say Ranma-san, you've certainly grown since the last time I saw you." Seeing the confused look on the young man's face, it didn't take her long to figure out what he was trying to do. "Don't bother trying to remember if we've met before. The last time I saw you was when you were a baby."

Ranma grew worried at those words. The only people he'd ever met that had known him when he was a child had either been engaged to him or had an engagement between him and their daughter. The look on his face wasn't missed though.

"Don't worry, I'm not here because of some engagement deal. I can assure you, I hold no intent on having you marry Yume," she said, causing Yume to blush at the thought.

Sensing no deception in her voice, Ranma noticeably grew more relaxed as he let he felt his mind relax. One question still remained though. "Okay, so you're Yume's mother then? I don't think I've gotten your name yet," he said truthfully.

She nodded, "my name is Ayase Yue, Haruna and I were both old classmates of your mother." The minute cheerfulness that seeped into her voice as she said that was easy to spot with her usually monotonous tone. It easily gave away just how happy she was of the fact.

Seeing that the introductions were over with, Yume was quick to jump in with her own question. "So Mom, what was it that you wanted to tell me and Ranma?" she asked inquisitively. Her enquiry seemed to have a profound effect on the three adults in the room as the atmosphere quickly grew solemn.

"Ah… yes that matter," Nodoka started, her voice low, as if greatly burdened by what was to come. "Ranma, before we begin with that, let me just tell you now, I really do feel sorry for everything I've done."

Ranma stared curiously at his mother, unsurprisingly confused at what she had just said. "Sorry?... Sorry for what?"

"For keeping so many secrets from you, for letting Genma take you away… and most of all, for allowing you to live a lie your entire life."

_Now_ Ranma was starting to freak out. Never before had he ever heard his mother talk like that, in fact he'd never heard anyone talk like that at all. She was completely serious about this matter, not even a single trace of humour in her voice. He could practically feel all the sadness and regret rolling off of her words. Whatever this was, he knew it was important.

"Wh… Why don't you just tell us what's going on. I'm pretty sure whatever it is, I'll still forgive you. I mean… it can't be that bad can't it?" he asked, hoping to cheer her up. It didn't seem to work though, as she still kept the pained look that she held before she spoke.

Yume didn't dare disturb them, as much as she wanted to continue on with this. Somehow, she knew that this involved her too. That thought was only confirmed by what her mother said next.

"Yume… what Ranma is about to learn concerns you as well. In fact, what we're going to tell you will connect you two to something that only a very small fraction of this world is aware of, and it will do so deeper with you two than most others. I expect you to let us finish explaining before you ask any questions. There's still one manner of business that we need to take care of after this, so I want to end this quickly."

The hidden edge in Yue's words were difficult to pick up by most people, but Yume had spent her entire life with her mother, so she caught on to it immediately. She had always argued with her mother about many things, but whenever her mother added that hidden commanding tone to her voice, she always found herself afraid to keep going. Hearing it now, she certainly wasn't going to argue.

Even her aunt Haruna, who Yume had only ever seen with a wild and excitable personality, now had a calculating look on her face, as if trying to decide on something.

Haruna released a heavy sigh. Seeing as neither of her best friends were willing to start, it fell upon herself to do so. She wasn't surprised really, after all, despite her attempts at cheering Nodoka up, she too had felt guilty about lying to her daughter and was as equally nervous of their reaction to the truth.

"_Well… might as well get this over and with."_

"I suppose I'll have to start then, let's go with the least complicated of all of this shall we?"

No one protested, it was clear that they all just wanted to start with it. "It's decided then. To start things off, Yume, I gave you all those original copies of my Mahora Magister Magi series right?" Yume nodded, unsure of where this was going. "Alright then, do you think you could summarize for us exactly what happened and what it's all about?"

Yume looked at her curiously. "Uhm… well… okay sure. The Mahora Magister Magi series was based off of things that happened to you and your class back when you were still a junior high student in Mahora academy. All of the events that take place were magical versions of actual events that happened in your life."

"The manga series in itself centred around Negi Springfield; a fifteen year old prodigy in both studies and magic, who was assigned to be class 3A's homeroom teacher, which was also your class. The students of class 3A made up the rest of the main cast, all of them based on your old classmates who, one by one, eventually found out about magic, with many of them actually learning to become mages. A good portion of the beginning of the story is driven mostly by Negi's determination to find his father."

"During the magic world arc, it was found out that Negi's mother was the last Queen of Ostia. The series concluded with Negi being crowned the new king of Ostia after they managed to turn the magic world completely real."

And with that, Yume ended her speech, all her previous confusions having left her as she got into her story telling. She may not have liked books all that much, so long as it had magic in it, she was always interested.

As she listened, Haruna kept a steady expression on the outside, but inwardly, she was practically grinning at the two teens' reactions to what she would tell them. The mangaka nodded in approval. "Good, you remembered most of it. Now tell me, what if I told you two that everything that happened there was real? If I told you that we really are mages?"

The mischievous humour permeating her voice as she asked them was unmistakable, though the reason behind it certainly wasn't.

Yume frowned, "I'd say you were either pulling my leg or bat-shit crazy, though I probably wouldn't be surprised with whichever one it is. Look… I know that I like pretty much everything that has to do with magic and all, but the things that happen in that manga are just too impractical to be true!"

Ranma, on the other hand, just looked intently at his aunt, trying to gauge whether she was joking or not. He'd already seen a lot of 'impossibilities' happen, some… actually, make that all, concerning him directly. He's a guy that turns into a girl for kami's sake. It wouldn't be much of a surprise for him if what she said was true.

"_Besides, if aunty __is__ telling the truth, then it might just explain what exactly happened last night with mom. I mean, her knowing martial arts, I understand, but that weird aura she had definitely wasn't ki."_

"Uhm… aunty, if you don't mind, do you think you could actually give us proof of that?" the lone male asked carefully, it wouldn't do him any good to get the proof in a painful manner. _"Sure, I'd probably survive it, but I'd rather not take my chances whenever magic's concerned, at least until I know what it does."_

He became pretty nervous when Haruna regained that shark-like smile that she held earlier. "Heh… seems like that curse of yours has made you more open-minded.," she stated, though Ranma could've sworn that there was something wrong with what she said; it didn't help his suspicions any when Yume's face went red or when the other two adults had rolled their eyes.

" Alright then, if it's proof that you want then that's what you'll get," Haruna announce, pulling out a card from seemingly out of nowhere. Neither of the two teens could see what was on the other side; all they saw was a red background with an odd pattern on it in deep red that resembled a magic circle.

Yume's eyes widened in recognition and disbelief at the sight, an act which wasn't missed by Ranma. It was enough for him to guess that she had seen that card before, and what she said next confirmed it. "Th… that's… y… you're… you're joking… right? That can't really be a… a… a pactio card… can it?" her voice was laden with a mixture of scepticism, denial and, oddly enough desperation; hoping what she saw was real while also refusing to believe it.

The predatory grin on Haruna's face only intensified at hearing that. "Oh… it is. I assure you," she said darkly, easily scaring Ranma and Yume, though the former would never admit it, "now… watch closely."

She turned the card for them to see. The front of the card had the same patterns that were imprinted behind it, but in light green rather than red. Over that was a picture of a younger Haruna in a red dress with an apron over it and a hat on her head. One hand held what appeared to be a sketchbook, while the other, a feather quill.

"Adeat!" she shouted, causing the card to emit a bright light that soon encompassed her body. The light faded to reveal Haruna, now geared in the same clothing as the picture, excluding the red dress. Sketchbook and quill in hand.

She smirked at Yume's look of awe and disbelief as she did her best imitation of a fish. Ranma, for his part, only looked impressed. "So… you need any more proof? I'd think that this were enough, wouldn't you?"

Yume could only give a hesitant nod, her bewildered face hiding away the giddiness that she felt at this revelation.

Ranma looked at his mother inquisitively. "Mom… that thing you used yesterday in our fight, the one you used make me fall asleep… that was magic as well, wasn't it?" Nodoka nodded, "and the book?"

"My Diarium Ejus, it was the third greatest treasure that sensei gave me," she said longingly.

Ranma's eyebrows rose. "Third greatest? So there some other magical stuff that he gave you?" he asked curiously. If a mind reading book –something which was, from his experience the previous night, an extremely powerful and dangerous potential weapon– was only the third greatest, it became hard for him to fathom just what something greater than that could do.

The possibility of such an item's existence was dashed when Nodoka shook her head. "No Ranma, the only magical object I got from Negi-sensei was my pactio artifact. I have some other magic artifacts, but all the rest I got by myself. No… my two most precious treasures, the ones that sensei gave me, neither are magical in nature… at least, not in the same sense as my Diarium Ejus."

"They aren't magical? Then in that case, what are they?" Ranma asked, genuinely curious, to get something more precious than such a powerful and yet not have any power of its own certainly was weird. Yume also listened intently, just as curious as Ranma about the subject.

The three adults, on the other hand, stiffened slightly… okay so it was more like Yue and Nodoka stiffened, Haruna just turned to listen to Nodoka as well, looking at her as if trying to urge her on. After a prolonged silence, the mind reader finally spoke.

"Ranma… have you ever wondered exactly why it is that you are so different from Genma? Why exactly is it that _he_ is an honourless thief while you remain an honourable martial artist despite all the years he's spent raising with you? How it is that you are able to learn a new technique in mere days, a skill which Genma clearly lacked? Or even the reason for your hair becoming red when transform into your girl from?"

Not exactly the answers he'd expected. The aforementioned cursed teenager looked at her oddly. He didn't know where this was going, but if it got his mother to answer, "well, to be honest, I haven't really thought of that. But now if I think about it, it really does seem strange. But what's that got to do with anything?"

Nodoka looked her son right in the eyes. "It has to do with everything… sochi. There's a very good reason as to why there isn't any resemblance between you and Genma. It's time for you to find out just what it is."

Confusion filled Ranma's head at what his mother told him. _"Okay… now this is just weird. What could me not being anything like pops have to do with any of this?"_

"And that reason would be…"

"Ranma… Saotome Genma is not your real father."

Silence… then… "EHHHHH!"

"W… wh…wha… what di… did you… just say… mom? Are you serious!" Ranma shouted incredulously. Calling Ranma surprised at this point was an understatement. He was well beyond shocked at what his mother had just said, and not just by her words, but by the sheer sincerity at which she said it as well.

It was at that point that something clicked in Yume's mind. It had once come by as a thought to her about what happened to the main character, Negi's love life after the end of the manga. After all, the guy had at least ten girls who were romantically interested in only him, the character based off of her own mother, as well as Ranma's being two of them. If everything that happened in that book was _completely_ real, that would mean that…

"Aunt Nodoka… Ranma's father, his real father… is Negi Springfield isn't it?"

-X-

And that's a wrap. I hope all of you enjoyed this little chapter. I know I may be going slow on the storyline thing, but please bear with me. I really just felt like getting this out of the way ASAP. I had to squeeze writing all of this in just one day and about, ohh… five hours worth of time. And mind you, a third of that was spent on thinking up the best way to make this chapter flow. I worked really hard just to get this out more than a week earlier than promised, so you'd all better thank me by reviewing XD.

(1) Latin meaning sacred twelve. If fans will recall, Chao was planning to use the power from the world tree and eleven other sacred magic locations for her spell. Their roll will be explained next chapter.

(2) Okay, now I'm certain that Akamatsu-sensei had based the library trio off of the ROD series. I mean really, even their heights are in the same order of age. Nodoka is the oldest of the three and the second tallest/shortest, Haruna is the second oldest and the tallest and Yue is the youngest and shortest. This is the same age to height order as in ROD. And to back it up, the youngest in both (Anita and Yue) were the last to be befriended by the other two members, and in both cases, the middle eldest is a golem user.

(3) Latin for 'mage of books', an appropriate title for the library trio.

Well that's pretty much all of it for now… oh wait, there's still one more thing I wanted to say. If you guys paid attention to what Yue said to Yume, then you might just figure out the little surprise I have in store for the next chapter. In the case that you figured out correctly and are the first to review about it, you'll get a special prize that will be awarded in the next chapter. See you all next time.


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, to everyone who (I hope) has been waiting for this update, I apologize for being late. I've been kind of busy with my family lately, with it being vacation time and all. And to make it worse, my muse kept hiding from me half of the time that I wasn't busy, so… yeah, this did come kind of late. But still, be that as it may, please enjoy the chapter.

One day, I would like to be able to publish my own book and/or manga/anime series, or maybe even a game's storyline, write a fan fiction about it, and then rightfully claim it to be completely under my ownership. Unfortunately, for now, I must be content in saying that I do not own anything from either the Negima or Ranma 1/2 franchise, nor do I own anything from any other series that I might appear.

**Chapter V: Revelations part 2- Family ties: the good, the bad and the very surprising**

"Aunt Nodoka… Ranma's father, his real father… is Negi Springfield isn't he?"

Silence, that was all that was all that was in the room. Not even the chirping of birds or the cliché sounds that grasshoppers are supposed to make was heard in the room. Ranma looked back and forth between Yume and his mother as he digested what the girl had said with a gobsmacked face.

The three members of the biblio trio had varying reactions among them. Nodoka held a face filled with great guilt and regret. Yue possessed a similar expression, a fact that worried Yume. She had a gut feeling that something even bigger was coming, and it was coming her way. Haruna, as usual, being the odd one out among the group, had a smile on her face, _"Finally things are starting to get interesting around here! It's about damn time that we got onto this subject. Wonder how their gonna take it? I might just have to work more of my magic if it goes too far"_

She didn't have t wait long to find out. Seeing that his mother made no attempts to deny Yume's claims, Ranma's face contorted into a mixture of pain, anger and betrayal as he looked at her. "My father…" he started in a quiet, rage filled voice, "are you telling me that my father is someone who I don't even know!"

"_Yep, definitely gonna go too far. Hmm… I'll wait till I really need to get involved. It'd be a bad idea if I got in too early. Though… that was odd, it sounded as if he was angry at Negi rather than at Nodoka. I wonder if she noticed?"_

Nodoka guiltily nodded, only making Ranma angrier.

"So… all this time… my real father's been in some sort of other world, while I had to go with that tub of lard and get thrown into all those engagements!" she nodded again, though a little surprised. _"Guess she didn't notice after all."_

"Oh! And I suppose he's got a good excuse for just up and leaving for good huh! What, did he think having a kid was too much work! I bet he's no better than that fat-ass pan…"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence Ranma!" Nodoka suddenly shouted, causing her son to jump.

Ranma's anger being directed to her husband/former teacher was unexpected, true. But she certainly wasn't going to let him compare her real husband with that sorry excuse for a human being. It would have been fine if he was angry at her, everything that happened was partly her fault anyway, but Negi had no part in what happened to her son.

Nearly all traces of guilt had left her face as she looked at him with a deep frown, her eyes narrowed. It was something that was both familiar and foreign to Ranma; he knew from her scowl that he had said something incredibly wrong, but unlike the times he saw it on Akane's face, hi one held much less anger.

Recovering his composure, Ranma stared right back at his mother, an act that, just yesterday, he would have been too afraid to do. "Why shouldn't I? This guy just threw us out didn't he?" he asked, a little bit of venom slipping into his tone at the latter question.

"He did no such thing, Ranma! He would never do such a thing," Nodoka defended fiercely. "*sigh* Let me tell you this now Ranma. The reason your real father has never been around ever since you were born isn't you were born isn't because he chose to, it's because he couldn't," she explained.

Ranma backed down a bit, but still stared at his mother. _"Couldn't be around? What's that supposed to mean," _he thought, now a little confused.

"Why then?"

A simple question. One that Ranma could let go unanswered.

"Why couldn't he be here? Why haven't I met him yet? Why did I have to go with that scumbag of a thief? Why didn't you tell me this the first time we met? Why did you have to keep this a secret!" he asked furiously, getting louder and louder with each question.

Deciding that things had gone out of control for long enough, Haruna intervened, intent on preventing any more misunderstandings. "Ranma-kun, you should calm down. You're not giving us a proper chance to explain. I assure you; Negi had no intent in abandoning you or your mother. In fact, last I recall, he was actually very happy when he heard that Nodoka was pregnant,"she explained in a placating tone, a little bit of mirth in her voice at remembering his reaction to the news.

Looking at his godmother, Ranma, hesitant as he may have been, gave in to her suggestion; sitting back down as he turned his gaze expectantly to his mother. Nodoka herself had also turned towards her old friend, sending her a thankful smile.

Heaving out a heavy sigh, she stared directly into her son's eyes, her face having changed to a calm expression. "Perhaps it would be better to show you rather than just tell you. Ranma, Yume, could the two of you please close your eyes and place your hands on the table," she instructed.

Looking at his mother in the face, Ranma reluctantly complied, closing his eyes and moving his hand to the middle of the table where Yume's hand had already been placed. Yue and Haruna soon followed suit, knowing what was to come.

Seeing that all was ready, Nodoka too, placed her hand on the table, right on top of all the others'.

"Recluo, Animus. Anima, Ocula! Nympha Somnii, Regina Maeve! Portam Aperiens ad Se Nos Alliciat!" (1)

As she chanted, a magic circle appeared below them, archaic runes appearing all around it, emitting a soft, blue glow. Ranma and Yume felt a strange sensation as the light surrounded them, as if something were tugging at their minds. And just like that, their minds flew elsewhere.

-X-

As soon as the tugging sensation had ended, Ranma slowly opened his eyes to see what had happened. What he saw was not what he expected. He found himself not in his mother's dining room and instead in what could only be described as a fantasy castle.

They were all in a hallway from what he could tell; the entire length of the passage being lit up by a series of chandeliers that seemed made out of crystals. The walls were coloured a pristine white, while hundreds of banners, bearing what appeared to be a coat of arms, hanging onto them. The ceiling was at least twenty feet above them, being held up by numerous, intricately designed archways.

However, none of these things caught Ranma's attention more than the fact that he was floating twenty feet in the air. Releasing a surprised yell of "what the hell!", as the martial artist jumped… uh, floated back at the sight.

The seniors among the group all chuckled at the sight. "Relax Ranma, you're not going to fall; at least not unless I want you to," reassured the alarmed boy's mother.

"Umm… what exactly do you mean by that?" asked an equally alarmed Yume.

They chuckled again. "Ranma, Yume, right now, you two are inside my memories. That incantation that I chanted earlier was for the memory sharing spell."

That was all it took to change Yume's demeanour. All her life, she had been so interested in magic, so obsessed with the mystic occurrences; and now, here she was, in the middle of an _actual, real_ spell. Magic was quite possibly the only thing that she had ever read about in books. Had she not completely inherited her mother's perpetually cool, calm and collected personality, Yume would have probably gone starry-eyed at the situation… which is exactly what she did.

Ranma, on the contrary, wasn't as excited. In fact, he looked like he was about to voice a question. Unfortunately, he was beaten to the punch by his mother, which also effectively broke Yume from her stupor.

"Save all questions for later, please. I can only hold this spell from playing out for a little while longer."

Finally getting back on track, Nodoka pointed towards one end of the giant corridor, "look over there," she instructed. Obliging, they all turned to see three distinctively female figures, each of which stood frozen like they would be in paused video. Though from how their positions, it was easy to tell that they were walking down to the other side of the long hallway.

"Alright, to make this easier, just relax yourselves and watch the show," she instructed her companions, though only the two teens had needed it. A tugging sensation washed over them as they drew closer to the three women on the ground.

-X-

"So the results turned out positive did they? That's great Honya-chan!" one of the women shouted excitedly. She looked much like a younger Haruna, complete with similar attire, but with shorter sleeves. She even had the same toothy grin.

"Haruna's right Nodoka. You may only be eighteen years old, but still, having a baby with the man you love is still something to be happy about," another said. This one was similar in appearance to Yume, but had her hair divided into two rather than three. She was dressed in a silver and white coloured, high-neck, double breasted suit jacket with gold trimmed, jagged edges at the bottom, and a knee-length white skirtf.

"Yeah, and to make it even better, your husband's the king of a magic kingdom, your practically living a fairytale."

"I know… and really, I do feel happy, I do. Sure… it may be a little… odd being a teenage mother, but I still couldn't be any happier since Ne-kun is the father. Although… I am a… little… worried. I mean… having a child and all… and at our age too... it's not exactly something that's easy to take for most people," said the third, who, apparently, was a younger Nodoka.

Unlike the previous two, she looked nothing at all like her older self. Her hair was untied and loose, falling down all the way to the small of her back. Two bangs fell to the sides of her head while the rest hovered over her forehead, one falling in between her eyes; making her hair look like a helmet. She wore a pure white, strapless gown with a thin, sky-blue ribbon tied in the area between her breasts. On her right hand were two rings: on her index finger was a wicked looking nail-ring, while on her ring finger rested a diamond ring.

"Oh don't worry about it Honya-chan," Haruna assured, "you know Negi better than that. He would never dare get angry at you for this. Hell, if anything, he'll probably feel the same as you are."

"Haruna's right Nodoka. There's no way that he'd get angry. After all, both of you knew that this could have been the result of your actions. It's safe to say that, as a gentleman, he'll understand that he should take responsibility."

Turning her gaze to the floor after their speech, Nodoka found herself unconsciously rubbing her stomach, gaining a smile of confidence as she did so.

"I… suppose you're right… both of you… thank you," she said, still looking down where her soon to be child was growing, her smile getting larger as they continued walking. She whispered down to her stomach in a voice that only she could hear: "Yes… everything's going to be fine."

"Heh… alright, looks like we're here," Haruna announced, stopping in front of a pair of large double doors, a duo of armoured guards saluting them as they neared. "Well… what are you waiting for your highness, his majesty is waiting inside. Go tell him the good news."

The mirth in the mangaka's voice was unmistakable as she said that, almost letting her laughter out of her head.

Nodoka scowled. "Ha-ru-naaa," she whined, stressing every syllable, "I told you before: don't ever call me that, even if you _are_ just joking. I may be a queen _now_, but you were already my friend before and you still are. You don't need to talk to me like that."

Laughter escaped the tall girl's mouth at her friend's complaints, getting the response that she was looking for.

After much pouting, Nodoka finally entered through the massive double doors.

-X-

Through the entrance of the room, a young man, eighteen years of age could be seen reading an ornate behind a luxurious wooden desk. A small white rodent could be seen reading over his shoulders.

He had deep crimson hair in two layers, the top spiked out, downwards, to the side from the top of his head, while the bottom layer lay hidden behind them, viewable only from the back, where it was tied in a thick, spiky ponytail. A well shaped face holding deep brown eyes that were furrowed in concentration.

He wore a white, button-up shirt under a green suit jacket, matching suit pants, red necktie, black dress-shoes and a beige, hooded robe –the Ostian coat of arms emblazoned on the back of the garment.(3)

"Negi-kun."

Both Negi turned away from the pages of the book towards the door. A smile soon found its way across his previously grim face.

"Ah! Nodo-chan it's you. Is there something that you need?"

Nodoka stopped mid-step, a mock pout forming on her face, "need something?" she asked with a fake hurt voice. "Ne-kun…" she faked a whine, "why would I need something just to see my husband?"

The young king could only smile at the sight. A soft laughter escaped his lips when she pouted even more. "Okay, okay, I get it. So… _is_ there a reason you came to see me?"

The playful pout on the mind reader's disappeared at that, being replaced by a shy smile as she suddenly became interested at the floor.

"Well…" she started, feeling less and less confident as she continued on, "you… do you remember... what we did that night... a week ago?" Nodoka finally asked, her cheeks flush.

She wasn't alone though, Negi sported a deep blush as well, though not as red as his wife. The fact that he could a distinctively perverted giggle coming from his shoulder didn't really help him much. It took all of the young king's restraint to stop him from smacking the tiny rodent with the book in his hands.

"Uhh… yeah… why?" he asked back, equally as shy. That night was definitely one that he would never forget; you only lose your virginity once, after all.

Nodoka's blush deepened. "Umm… well… you see, I… was feeling a little weird after that, so… I went to the doctor to for a check up and… well…" she left off, not having enough courage to go on.

She didn't have too though. The moment that she said the word "doctor", a cold chill suddenly went up his spine.

"Wha… what did they… say?"

He didn't have to ask of course. Negi knew what the result was, it didn't take a genius to figure that out, but he still wanted to hear it from her.

"Ne-kun… I'm… pregnant."

That was all it took. That single announcement was all it took to freeze the redheaded king in place; his face contorting into a mixture of emotions: shock, joy, fear. All these coursed through his mind as he stood, his mind in a jumble of thoughts.

It was a good five minutes later before he finally regained his composure enough to respond; breaking the awkward silence that came upon the room.

"Re… really? Nodo-chan, you… you're really pregnant?"

The shy queen nodded, banishing all doubt in her husband's mind. Silence reigned upon the royal couple as stood stock still. Even the perverted little rodent dared not to make a sound, merely content at watching the two.

Surprisingly enough, it was the shyer of the two that broke the awkward situation. "Ar… are you… upset?" she asked, finally looking him in the face.

It took some time for Negi to process her question, but when he did, it had put the amethyst haired young woman at ease.

"Nodo-chan… if you aren't upset by this, then how could I possibly be?" he asked back, a smile slowly forming on his features.

-X-

The five of them watched as the memory continued to play on. It surprised Ranma to no end when he saw his mother; both by how she looked and how she acted. In the short time that he had known her, his mother had never once acted as shy as she did in her memories.

"Heheheh… this really brings back memories, doesn't it? Honya-chan? Yuechi?" Haruna inquired wistfully. Though both of the teens were too focused on the memory to notice; Ranma because of his real father and Yume because of the romantic interaction (hey, she's still a teenage girl).

"It certainly does. It's been so long since I've seen Nodoka act as shy as that."

The amethyst haired girl laughed softly at that. "Well… that _is_ true. But then again, I'm not the only one that's changed."

She turned her gaze towards the two former ala alba members for a moment. "Yue-chan has become less detached and shows a lot more emotions more often, and you've also become less of a slacker."

"Paru has also changed quite a bit. You're not as outwardly devious as before, though you have gotten scarier whenever you are."

Nodoka and Yue could only try to suppress their laughter at the annoyed look that Nodoka received from the third member of the trio. There were very few things that could make a tick mark appear on the mangaka's forehead, so it was definitely a savoured moment.

With a great huff and a deep scowl, Haruna redirected her two friends' attention towards the still playing memory. The scene that they saw was that of the smiling, younger Nodoka leaving the royal study, with the memory Negi having an equally joyful smile.

"So… that's my real father… right?" Ranma asked, turning to his mother.

"Yes, he is. Negi Springfield, crowned king of the revived kingdom of Ostia."

A silence bore down among the group of five after that, as the blissful memory came to a close. It was only when the entire background disappeared that Yume took notice of a very important fact.

"Wait a second!" she shouted, her head rising up so fast that a crack would've been heard, had it been her real body. "If Ranma-san's father is the king of Ostia, wouldn't that make…"

"Ranma-kun the prince of Ostia?" her mother cut her off, a small, amused smile on her face. "Yume, I'm surprised it took you this long to figure that out."

Ranma's head snapped up in surprise. "Prince! Now you're telling me that I'm a prince!"

"Heheheh… that's right Ranma-kun. As your father was the king, that makes you the prince. Quite a surprise, isn't it?"

Before the pig cursed martial artist could make a retort, he was beaten to the punch by his mother (I seem to enjoy having their respective mother stop them from continuing to talk).

"Alright, that's enough about that topic. We'll discuss that later. For now, I believe I still have one question to answer, right Ranma?"

Said boy took on a contemplative look as he turned to his mother. It took about half a minute to remember what else it was that needed to be answered.

"Oh right! You still haven't told me what happened to keep my real pops away from us," he announced in realization.

Once more, Nodoka let out a soft laugh at her son. "Yes, exactly. And that's precisely what I will show you now."

With a gesture of her right arm, the blank scenery was once again replaced by the castle. But this time, something was very different.

Just like before, the scene was frozen in place; but it definitely didn't look as calm as the last. In fact, it was the opposite of calm. Armoured soldiers were running along the wide hall; weapons poised as though they were going into battle, which was the most likely possibility.

In a space between all these soldiers, the group of five once again spotted the younger library trio of girls, this time accompanied by two more girls of the same age.

The first of the two had smooth, long, chestnut hair and was dressed like an onmyouji; a pair of wooden fans in her hand. She had an aura of kindness about her that was both accentuated and marred by the look of distressed concern on her face.

The second could easily be described as an albino. She had alabaster skin, and almost pure white eyes. Her hair –also white– was tied to a ponytail on one side of her head while bangs framed the other side(4). And as if that wasn't odd enough, she was actually wearing a maid outfit... with black cat ears! And last of all, she was even wearing a cape! And one covered with white feathers of all things!

Just as quickly as the memory appeared, it started to move. The five women on the ground running frantically: darting through halls, climbing up and down staircases and weaving past the rushing soldiers; all this while the tell-tale sounds of a major battle could be heard from outside.

A series of crashes could be heard as all sorts of shadowy, humanoid demons burst through windows and wall alike. Soldiers and demons fought and fell on both sides as swords and spells swung and flew.

The albino woman's cape was soon revealed to be a pair of wings when a swarm of flying demons came down on the group. With a shout of "Adeat!", an odd and beautiful sword appeared in her hand. It was broken into three parts: a double-edged blade and a separated hilt, both of which looked to be connected by glowing orb.

The onlookers of the memory (well, two of them) could hardly take their eyes off of the miniature warzone as they watched the action play out before them.

"Enjoying the show?"

Ranma and Yume both snapped up in surprise as they were broken from their reverie. They saw a smirking Haruna gazing down at the two of them; Nodoka and Yue behind her, hiding amused smiles.

"Ranma, as entertaining as this scene may be, it is also the beginning of something that changed a great deal for not just myself, but all the members of the Ala Alba," Nodoka explained, walking… err, floating forward (did it again huh?).

Ranma looked at her confused… again. _"I really have get my hands on that manga that aunty created. Hmm… come to think of it, she isn't really my aunt is she? Ah, who cares, I might as well call both of mom's friends aunty."_

"Umm… Ala Alba? Who exactly are those anyway?"

"We'll explain later," the elder three chorused.

"You might want to keep watching sochi. It's about to get to the part where you'll really need to listen."

-X-

"Imperium Graphices!: Majestic beasts- Ohka!(5)" shouted the younger Haruna, as a four red and pink, quadrupedal golems dove out of her artifact and started attacking the surrounding demons; blasting out orbs of light magic from its maw.

"Damn it! These things already managed to take out all ten of my Majestic soldiers!" the mangaka cursed, rubbing her stomach and head.

"Yes well their not exactly easy to deal. Just be glad that these things are weaker than those things used by Cosmo Entelecheia three years ago," a now fully armoured Yue retorted as she used her sword to cut through one demon's mid-section, only to block a strike from a another one.

Close by, a small group of mantis like demon dove towards the onmyoji girl –Konoka– only for each of them to be hacked down by the winged swordswoman.

Another small group attempted to attack Nodoka. The nail ring that she wore shone, quickly growing to encompass her entire right hand, before revealing itself to have transformed into a clawed glove; the ruby that was now found at the back of her hand radiated a malicious aura, the slit in the middle making it appear like the eye of a feral beast.(6)

The tips of the claws emitted their own aura; a foreboding, crimson energy that soon morphed into a foot long extension of the claws. With a series of well placed slashes and a few barrier spells in between, all of the demons coming after her were completely eradicated.

"These things just keep coming! If we don't get some breathing room soon, we'll never make it to the others!" the mind reader shouted in alarm.

"Well we only have two more turns to make and we'll be able to make it outside. Since there aren't any soldiers nearby, I should be able to fend them off. Just give me enough space on the next turn," Konoka instructed, pulling out four paper charms as she did so.

Each of the girls nodded their heads. As they came to where the hallway turned, the airborne swordswoman turned around and came to a halt, charging a large amount of ki into her sword.

"Shinmei-ryu Ougi!: Messatsu Zanku Zanmasen!(7)" she yelled out, thrusting her sword forwards, releasing a huge blast of ki energy; killing all those unfortunate enough not to be able to dodge, leaving only a handful of grounded demons and about two dozen aerial demons.

She continued on to the left corridor, where her four companions were waiting; leaving the remaining demons, and their swarming reinforcements to follow.

As soon as the other four made the turn, Konoka too, stopped in her tracks; throwing the paper seals with expert precision, lining them up evenly on the ground. The moment her guardian got behind the line of charms, the female onmyoji started her chant.

"Charms of conflagration, god of the inferno, Kagutsuchi, aid my escape with a wall of flames."(8)

Just as she commanded, wide towers of flame burst forth from the charms, leaving little to no room for the monstrosities to pass through.

"Those flames won't hold them back for long. Konoka-sama we have to hurry!"

With that, the two remaining women turned around and ran towards the library trio as they finished off the few remaining demons barring their way.

Soon enough, the five made their way to an open gate where a large group of young women were already waiting; some of them fending off even more approaching demons with long range attacks. From behind them, a huge, mechanical… fish?… a huge, mechanical fish could be seen levitating off of the ground.

It was an elegant, blonde haired woman that took notice of them first, "Nodoka! Yue! Haruna! Konoka! Setsuna! Hurry up! We have to get into the airship! Quickly!" she instructed before turning to the rest of the assembly, "Everybody! Get inside the Paru-sama now!"

-X-

With our group of memory watchers…

The two present day teens watched in awe at the entire proceeding. Everything that was happening so far was something that neither of them had ever seen before.

Sure, Ranma had seen a lot of weird techniques in his life a lot of times, but this was at an entirely different level. The battle, if you could call it that, was nowhere near as widely damaging as his own usual fights, and that's precisely what got his attention.

Despite all the power, all the devastation towards the demons, only a little damage was actually done to the surrounding itself; at least on the account of the his mother and her companions. To have that much refined control over such great power was something he wasn't used to seeing. True, most of the attacks were not as strong as many of the things he'd seen before, but most of the things he'd seen before had as much versatility or finesse. Mass destruction, that was the result of the majority of the large-scale attacks he'd seen in the past.

Yume was doubly as awed as he was. Unlike Ranma, she wasn't used to any form of battle, let alone what seemed to be an actual war, a _magic_ war. She didn't even blink as the entire battle continued, her attention completely on what she saw before her.

She watched as her mother's younger self slashed and cut the demons with her sword, all the while in full Ariadne armour, blasting out the occasional lightning and wind spells. As her aunts fought them off with golems and spells. As the winged swordswoman sliced them apart, some without even touching them.

It was only after the entire gathering of women got into the airship did they finally got themselves into the airship that their entire surrounding went blank again. Though it didn't last long. As soon as the scene melted away, all of them felt the tugging sensation in the back of their heads again. And soon enough, they once again found themselves in the kitchen.

-X-

It was Ranma who recovered first. "Whoa… okay, that… was definitely different than from what I expected." He turned towards his mother, "mom, are you really able to do _all_ of that?"

Nodoka stared back at her son, trying to look offended, but the amusement on her face made it obviously fake. "Why Ranma, are you saying that what I just showed you was a lie! I'm hurt. What kind of son would accuse his mother of such a thing."

The amused smiles of all four females only served to deepen Ranma's frown. "The kind who's mother has been keeping the truth about his father a secret, that's what," he retorted; cutting laughter there and then.

Nodoka sighed. "Well… yes… I guess that that _would _be a big reason to doubt me. But I assure you, this memory has by no means been altered."

"Umm… aunt Nodoka…" Yume called out.

"Yes… what is it Yume-chan"

"What exactly is going on here?"

"Oh right! I've been thinking back too much to this time that I almost forgot."

Nodoka cleared her throat, as if preparing for a long speech… which of course, it was. "Well, this takes place roughly one and a half month after I found out that I was pregnant with Ranma."

"An organization known as Armageddon (if you have better name ideas, then I'm open for suggestion) had unleashed an attack on Ostia. They summoned a large legion of demons known as Infernals in order to storm the castle."

"Unfortunately, the entire organization had remained under everyone's radar up until a around a week prior to the invasion. Needless to say, we had no time to prepare."

Both teens now focused their attention towards the her, letting all the information sink in. "And? How does that relate to my real dad then?" Ranma asked bluntly, eliciting a quiet laugh from his mother.

"You know Ranma, your father may have gotten a lot of his personality from his mother, but it seems to me that you inherited yours straight from your grandfather."

She sighed, once again preparing for a long explanation. "The reason your real father has never met you is simple: He's stuck in Mundus Magicus."

Raising her hand in a 'halt' gesture, stopping any question from both teens. "To answer the question that both of you were obviously going to ask: the reason that he's stuck in the magic world is because the last gateport that connects the two worlds was broken."

"You see, Mundus Magicus, the magic world and Mundus Verus(9), the world we're in now, was once connected by places known as gateports. These are kind of like airports from country to country, complete with similar procedures, that uses high-power mass teleportation magic as a way to get to either worlds. Do you two understand so far?"

The two teens nodded, albeit a bit hesitantly on Ranma's part.

"Good. Now then, roughly twenty one years from now, all but one gateport ended up getting destroyed by a group known as Cosmo Entelecheia. The only gateport being left out being the one from the original Ostia."

"Now, in order for these gateports to work, a two-way stream would need to be made between two corresponding gateports between the two worlds. Unfortunately, while the gateports _were_ repaired, the link between them couldn't; this is because the Earth doesn't naturally have enough magical energy in order to start the process. The link acts similar to a car engine actually; in order for a car to start, it would need more energy that was built into it, in other words, the battery to start, but after that, can use external energy, the fuel. Similarly, if the link is already established, the amount of magic energy needed directly from the earth becomes less, and therefore, can be supplied."

"Umm… huh?" was their intelligent reply, causing the three mages to sweatdrop.

"You know what… just forget about that. The main point is: none of the gateports work anymore because Earth doesn't have enough magical power."

"Oh…" the two teens chorused, with Nodoka's only reply being a heavy sigh. _"Well, I guess I really shouldn't expect them to have understood any of that… considering what their main interest is in."_

"Okay… but… how did the last gateport get broken?" Yume enquired, though the reaction she got for it was unexpected. The moment the question left her lips, an almost palpable sense of guilt washed over the room as Nodoka's head drooped down in obvious shame, mumbling something too quietly to be coherent.

Her two former classmates were quick to console her as she started to silently weep.

"Uhh… aunt… aunt Nodoka? Is… is something wrong? What did I say?" Yume asked; herself and Ranma now also trying to calm the sobbing woman down.

Releasing a deep breath, Yue asked her mangaka companion to take her other best friend to another room –to which Haruna agreed– so that she could continue where Nodoka left off.

As soon as the door was shut, the bibliophile turned towards the two, noticeably worried teenagers. "Yume, you don't have to worry, you didn't say anything wrong. You too Ranma-kun, you don't have to worry too much. Your mother is just suffering from some… guilt issues."

Not entirely convinced, Ranma's brow furrowed as he sent a glare at her, clearly demanding an explanation. She sighed.

"To put it in simple, a mage that was caught a week prior to the invasion not only let the information about Armageddon's existence slip out, we also found out that they required someone of the royal blood. Given how powerful your father was, it was obviously a bad idea to try and capture him outright. So they turned to the easiest source. In other words, their original target was the, at that time, still unborn child of the king."

"As you've seen, without being able to obtain someone of the royal bloodline of Ostia, the power of their forces weren't exactly all that great, but they did have large numbers. Your father didn't want to take the chance that your mother could have been kidnapped, so he made a plan that would ensure your safety: strand you into Mundus Verus and the forces of Armageddon in Mundus Magicus."

"In the end, it was Nodoka that destroyed the gateport in this world, thus preventing them from coming after you. That's why she feels so guilty about the destruction of the last gateport; she feels that it was her fault that you didn't know your real father. She felt guilty because of what she ended up putting you through, Ranma."

A look of understanding appeared on both of their faces and, in Ranma's case, guilt. _"She… feels that guilty because of me? But it was for the best wasn't it? Mom shouldn't have to feel guilty about that."_

"Ranma-kun," Yue called, getting his attention, "you are going with us to Wales right?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Uhh… yeah, I mean, I know that mom said that she would decide because she beat me yesterday, but with all this, the least I could do is go with her."

A rare, wide spread itself on the elder Ayase's face. "Good, then that means she'll finally be able to get rid of her guilt then."

"Get rid of her guilt? What do you mean by that?" Yume asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, it's quite simple really, they were finally able to reopen the gates to Mundus Magicus."

"What! But I thought Mom said that they couldn't be opened!"

"Well, normally, yes. However, that's only because the Earth doesn't _normally _have enough magical energy for the connection to be made… until a week ago."

"And what's so special about last week?" her daughter asked, not finding any logic in it at all.

Again, a smile made itself present on the elder Ayase's face, something that had become more and more common as of late. "You mean you don't remember Yume dear?"

Puzzled, the younger Ayase shook her head. "Fine then, let me remind you. Every twenty one years, starting from twenty one years ago(10), the Sacratus Duodecimus, or 'Sacred Twelve', release a large amount of magical energy that they've gathered over the years. The magical energy gathered up by all these places was apparently used to jumpstart the link between the two worlds. The gateport in Wales is will be the first to transport people to Mundus Magicus in a long time, it's due to happen in three days, which is precisely why we'll be leaving for Britain tonight."

"We're going to Mundus Magicus!" Yume shouted in disbelief.

"Yes, now that the gates have been opened again, we can go back to the magic world."

"But why now aunty? What makes going back there now any different than just staying there before?"

Yue looked at him appraisingly, and then smiled a small smile, "Ranma-kun, other than your age and curse, what is it that's different about you now than when you were born? What have you become first and foremost in your life?"

"Eh? Well… I'm a martial artist now, and one of the best at that," he answered, his voice becoming boastful by the end, and then his expression returned to being confused. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"*sigh* It has a lot to do with everything Ranma-kun," Yue stated, an almost uncatchable irritation in her tone. "Think about it, even if you live in the castle of Ostia, even if you were constantly guarded as a child, you still could have been kidnapped if someone was determined enough. But _now_, you know how to defend yourself in case Armageddon or someone else tries to target you. Why else do you think your mother let you go off to be trained by Haruna's retard of a cousin?"

Ranma, for the nth time, just sat there, dumbfounded. Many would say that Ranma was far from being smart, stupid even. The truth though, was quite contradictory, he was smart, just not in areas that most others were. In fact he was actually pretty good at piecing things together, if he set his mind to it; something that he never really bothered with in studying.

When he thought about it, it really didn't make sense for his mother to have let him leave with his 'father' like that; even with the seppuku contract. But if he needed to learn how to defend himself against enemies like those… well… suffice to say it was pretty sensible. But if that were the case, something still didn't make sense.

"Why did mom marry po… eh, Genma, then?" he asked. This was something he didn't get at all. He saw what that swordswoman in his mother's memory could do, he even saw what his mother could do, and he was damn sure that someone else could have thought him, so why?

"Her family," Yue replied simply, though the perplexed expressions that she got in return prompted her to explain. She let out a deep breath, but remained as calm as before.

"Ranma-kun, I won't lie to you and say that your mother's family, or at least her father, was pleased when she first got married. Your maternal grandfather was a _very_ corrupted man, unbearably so. Since he knew nothing about magic, he didn't know of your real father's heritage, and so, he assumed that your father would bring no benefit for him. Because of that, when he heard that your mother was pregnant and that your original father was no longer around, he ended up forcing Nodoka into an arranged marriage."

"Why didn't aunty resist it? She could've just said no right?"

Yue nodded. "Yes, she could have. However, you have to understand: the destruction of the last gateport… she was hit by it the hardest. She was… vulnerable… at that time. Her father took immediate action, saying that it had to be done or else they would take her child from her; not that he could have actually accomplished that. But at that time, we didn't know that the link between the worlds could be recreated, so… she just gave in. 'If only to preserve what little honour my family has left,' she said."

"And then what happened?" Ranma asked, completely engrossed in the tale. How could he not? This was end of the story that changed his life to what it was now.

"Well, before we get to talk about that, let me just say this: your mother did not like the decision one bit. Well, as it turned out, your grandfather, Miyazaki Nagato, was actually an old friend of Haruna's uncle, Saotome Ryuma. Much like what Genma had done with his old friend, Tendo Soun, Ryuma and Nagato had already arranged to have a marriage between the firstborns of both their families."

"What? But… wouldn't that mean that aunty was already supposed to marry Genma?"

"No, she wasn't. Nodoka is the second daughter and third child of her family. It was supposed to be Nodoka's elder sister, Mieko(11), that was to be married off to the Saotome family."

"Then what happened? Why was mom the that ended up getting forced into marriage?"

A silence filled the room as an easily noticeable scowl crossed Yue's face. "Mieko… I only met her once, and she was very willing to follow through with her family duties but…" she started explaining sorrowfully. Her next words however, were filled with a hate that was almost foreign to her.

"…But then they found out that she was barren. A month or so after Nodoka got married, her sister was raped on her way home. When she was taken to the hospital, it was found that she wasn't impregnated by the assault. At first, her parents, especially her father was relieved. That all changed when they found out that she was barren to begin with."

"From what we found out from Nodoka's brother, Masahiro; the moment that their father heard the new, he became furious. And then, a few days after Mieko returned home, she died in an 'accident', or so they said at that time. I don't really think I need to tell either of you what everybody else involved had thought, do I?"

The two teens just sat wide-eyed. Indeed, she didn't have to tell them anything, any idiot, no matter how stupid (not that either of them were) could've figured out what really happened. Ranma felt a burning fury boil up inside of him as he levelled a glance at the woman sitting across from him.

"What ever happened to him?" he asked quietly in subdued anger. "What ever happened to my 'grandfather'?" he repeated, a mixture of anger and sarcasm clearly present when he uttered the title.

A bittersweet smile spread across the elder Ayase's lips. "He got what he deserved, thankfully. Your uncle had been very determined at that point to prove that Mieko's death wasn't an accident, and your mother was just as determined once she found out. Miyazaki Nagato was taken into custody thirteen years ago and was executed the next year. Turns out, he not only killed your now late aunt, but also your grandmother after she enrolled Nodoka to Mahora academy; apparently to get Nodoka away from Nagato."

Once again, a deep silence filled the room as the news sunk in. The three occupants all calming down as they sat. It was Yume that finally broke the quiet atmosphere.

"Heh… serves him right. Killing his wife _and_ his daughter just because things didn't go his way. The guy was nothing but a demon that deserves to rot in hell."

The young, magenta haired girl was quickly silenced by her mother's glare. "Yume," she scolded, "I'll have you know that two of my closest friends were both part demon. And I've also met quite a lot of demons in the past, whether in a good situation or a bad one. I can tell you right now, comparing someone _that_ vile and corrupted to even the mindless types of demons is an insult to their race. Don't ever compare people like that to them."

Yume stared at her mother for a moment, unsure of what to do, before simply deciding to give her a nod.

It was at that moment that the door to the room finally slid open. Haruna stepped into the room and sat down.

"Why did you take so long Haruna?" Yue asked, turning to the green haired mangaka, "surely it couldn't have taken _that_ long to calm Nodoka down?"

Haruna responded by propping her elbows up onto the table, as she rested her head on her hands. "Oh, it didn't. In fact, it didn't even take five minutes. She just decided that since it's getting close to noon that she might as well start preparing some lunch, so I decided to help her out. She should be back any minute now."

True to her word, a few minutes later, a relaxed Nodoka had returned into the dining room… all seven of them. The two teenagers in the room looked on in wonder and confusion as six copies of the house's owner –identified by the ridiculous chef outfits that they wore– set the food, plates, bowls and chopsticks on the table before abruptly vanishing into puffs of smoke.

"Alright everyone. Sorry for that little… interruption… earlier. I guess I'm not as over my little problem as I thought."

She then turned to her best friend. "So… I take it you've continued to explain things to them? Exactly how far have you gotten?"

"Everything down to what happened with your… family."

A pang of depression hit the amethyst haired woman as she heard that. The events surrounding her sister and her father, though she no longer thought of him as such, was a sore point for her; but still, she knew it was necessary for her son to know about the event. It did, after all, involve him just as much, if not, more so than it did her. So with a great sigh, she turned back to the other occupants, putting away her past troubles and smiling as best she could.

"Well… depressing news aside, it's already lunchtime. Let's continue with this after we've eaten. Everybody dig in," she invited wholeheartedly, taking some food for herself.

-X-

Twenty minutes later…

Lunch had been a fairly normal affair. The only thing that was really of interest was the scolding that Ranma had gotten for his eating habits while in front of guests, along with said guests' reactions. All in all, it was a big contrast to the roller-coaster of an event that had taken place before.

All the while, Ranma and Yume had kept processing everything that they'd learned just a few minutes before.

Now that the information had _really_ started to sink in, Ranma had found that he was surprisingly fine with what happened. He _was_ hurt that his mother had lied to him for most of his life, but when he thought about it, he was taken away from her for most of his life as well. Sure, she could've had a reason for not telling him up until now, but she must have had a good reason for doing so right? And why did she let Genma take him if he could have just learned from his mother's old friends? Surely he would've learned a lot if the others were as good as that swordswoman.

"_I'll ask about that later."_

Yume on the other hand, was thinking in a different direction. This line of thought was mainly focused on the _existence_ of magic. She had never been –to her mother's displeasure– a big fan of books; comics and manga maybe, but not books. But despite that fact, she still loved anything that involved magic. There were even times when she would take an entire day to read about things like mythical lore, despite her dislike of it. Dragons, wizards, demons, it didn't matter what they were, so long as it was connected to magic, she would be interested in it. To go to a magic _world_, and to learn that magic existed; to her, it was a dream come true.

Five minutes later and their meal was finished. Haruna once again reactivated her pactio, creating a group of golems that proceeded to wash the dishes.

Seeing her aunts action, a fact from said aunt's manga crossed her mind. "Aunt Haruna," she voiced out, grabbing the mangaka's attention. "In the manga you made, didn't you say that a probationary contract will cease to work once the magister ascends to being a full mage?"

Haruna looked at her oddly, wondering where this was going, before nodding her head. "Well… didn't Ranma-san's father already become a full magister magi? How is it that that contract still works? Or is it that that's a permanent pactio?"

"Oh… you noticed that huh? Well… I don't exactly know whether it counts as a permanent one or not. Your mother's the expert when it comes to this sort of thing."

Hearing that, Yume turned to her mother in curiosity, Ranma, having nothing better to do, listened in.

"Well, just to make it clear, it _does_ in fact count as a permanent pactio. However, the one that Haruna possesses, as well as the ones that most of the other members of the Ala Alba, are all very special"

"How so?"

"Simple really. Most people who are aware of magic all believe that there are only three types of pactio cards: a botched pactio, a probationary pactio and a permanent pactio. However, for those that have _really_ studied magic in-depth , they would learn the existence of something called a royal pactio."

Yume eyebrows arched. "Royal… pactio? Okay… other than the obvious, what's so special about it?"

"Again, it's simple. As you've pointed out, a royal pactio is, obviously, an object related to royalty. Normally, this form of pactio is available only to the descendants of the creators of the magic world, those of the royal bloodline of Ostia. Apparently, however, should a prince or princess ascend to the throne while still having active contracts, then they will turn into royal pactio contracts as well. Thus making them permanent."

It took a few seconds, but soon enough, the younger Ayase had nodded in understanding. Ranma on the other hand lost interest halfway through and just stopped listening.

"Hmm… speaking of bloodlines. Yuechi, don't _you_ have something to say to your daughter? Ranma-kun's already learned about his family. Isn't it about time you told Yume-chan about hers?" Haruna voiced out mischievously, prompting a scowl from her long time friend.

The teenage girl turned to her mother, sending her an inquisitive gaze. All the other occupants of the room stared at her now, two with an expression of curiosity, the other two with expectant gazes.

Yue sighed in defeat. She knew this was going to come, she was just hoping that it wouldn't have been this soon. _"But then, it wouldn't really be fair if Nodoka was the only one that had to do this. I wonder how they're going to react to this?"_ she asked herself, hoping that it wouldn't be _too_ extreme.

"Very well then. But seeing as we still have quite a lot to do before we need to head for the airport, plus the fact that you two will probably want a big explanation for this, then I might as well be as blunt as possible."

She took a breath. Her gaze shifting quickly between the two teens. "Yume, Ranma-kun, the two of you are half siblings," she stated in a matter of fact tone.

Said pair of teens sat there dumbfounded, mouths agape as the _another_ bit of surprising news hit them. And then, for the second time that day, the people in the surrounding neighbourhood heard a loud shout.

"EHHHHH!"

"W… wh…wha… what di… did you… just say… mom? Are you serious!" Yume asked incredulously, and, unbeknownst to her, giving a perfect repeat performance of her –as of recently revealed– half brother. But this time, the expression of the mother was neither guilt nor regret. In fact, it was one of amusement. An expression that was shared among the three older women.

"Heheheh… see Yumechi, your mother was telling the truth. You two even reacted to the same type of news in practically the same way. I'm guessing that it's something that the two of you picked up from your father." The three of them attempted to stifle their laughs as the two teens shared a shocked face; a face that they had once seen themselves from said teens' father.

Regaining her bearings quickly, the younger Ayase… or should I say, the youngest Springfield, was swift in her comeback. "That doesn't prove anything aunt Haruna!" then she turned towards her mother, "what the do you mean that the two of us are half-siblings!" she demanded furiously; her mind finally reaching its capacity for unbelievable news, causing her to completely lose her cool.

Although to her credit, Ranma had gone completely stock still. Then again, the news that they had heard earlier was much more taxing on him, so it wasn't much of a surprise that he was the first to break.

"Now, now, calm down Yume-chan. I know that this news must be very shocking, but you have to calm down in order for your mother to explain. You too Ranma, after all, it's rude to keep your mouth open like that."

Finally snapping out of his shocked induced stupor, the cursed martial artist promptly shut his mouth before turning his gaze towards his mother and her two friends. His demeanour making a complete one eighty as he gave them a 'start explaining' look.

Reigning in their amusement, (well… two out of three anyway) the three mages decided to get back into business.

"_How many explanations does this make today?" _Yue thought idly.

"Well sochi, like Yue-chan had said, you and Yume are half siblings. Ne-kun is both my husband as well as Yue-chan's."

By this point, Ranma could pretty much swear that his face was going to be stuck in disbelief, with how much his expression kept switching back to that one again and again. Though to his comfort, at least his apparent half-sister was in the same boat as he was in their reaction… which just proved the current point even more.

"A… are you… mom are you saying that my real pops has _two_ wives at the same time?"

"Huh? Oh no, Ne-kun doesn't have two wives," she clarified, much to the two teens relief. "No, in fact, Ne-kun has eleven wives. Ten of which, incluing the two of us, have children."

And there goes all their relief as the two teens fell face first onto the wooden floor.

"E… e… ELEVEN!" the two cried out simultaneously after picking themselves up. The three mages simply nodded, causing the other two occupants of the room to gawk.

"Wai… wait a second. Are you telling us that not only are _we_ half siblings, but we also have nine _other_ half siblings as well?" Yume questioned.

"Hmm… actually, it would probably be easier to just say half sisters. Ranma-kun is the only one of the ten of you that was born as a boy, and even then that's only half of the time." The amused tone in Haruna's words as she said that was unmistakeable, she was definitely enjoying this; something that irked the two to no end.

"Uhh… you know what: I'm just going to go and skip the whole moral issue of this thing for later when we actually meet my… our old man, so that he can answer it himself. But you could you at least explain to us _how_ this happened?" Ranma asked irritably.

"Actually Ranma, those two things can be explained at the same time," Nodoka stated before letting her best friend continue. Haruna just watched the entire thing from the proverbial sidelines, enjoying the show as it took place.

"Now, despite what you two may think, your father is, by no means, a pervert," she started off, a bit of a mischievous smirk coming to her lips. "Well… at least not any more perverted than a guy _should _be, anyway."

"She's right. In fact, he wasn't even planning on invoking his polygamy rights."

"Polygamy rights?" Ranma asked his mother, causing her to let out a sigh. _"What the hell was I thinking letting him go off with that asshole like that? I probably could've thought him how to fight better __**and**__ made him smarter. Tsk… guess I have my work cut out for me then."_

"Polygamy basically means to have various spouses at the same time. As a king, your father had legal rights to perform polygamy. However, it wasn't until we pushed him to it that he accepted."

"You… pushed our father to… accept it? How and why did that happen?"Yume questioned, having calmed down some more.

"Well, concerning the why: it was pretty simple really. You see, your father was, for better or worse, a natural at attracting women; something that you, Ranma-kun, had inherited from the looks of it," Yue started explaining. "Out of the class of thirty one girls that he had taught as a teacher, ten of us ended up falling for him. The eleventh person that he married was his childhood friend," she said with a slight blush.

At that point, Nodoka decided to take over. "At first, much to my embarrassment, all of us had been competed to try and get his heart, even when we did find out about his polygamy rights. However, in the end, we decided that we'd had enough. We didn't want to compete each other anymore. As a matter of fact, we didn't really want to compete for him in the first place."

"The Ala Alba… was a very close knit group. To us, going up against each other, getting in the way of the other's happiness; that hurt us as much, if more so than it did the same was done for us. That went on for a little under half a year. But then, in the end, we just told Ne-kun one thing, and that made him decide to invoke his rights."

"Oh? What'd you tell him aunt Nodoka?"

The two let loose another pair of amused and stifled laughter, accompanied by a distinct third. It was Yue that spoke this time. "That's something I don't think any one of us will ever forget. We told Ne-kun that, and I quote : 'All of us would gladly try to beat each other in order to get you to love us, but we hate fighting with each other just as much.' After that, all of us told him that we wanted him to choose soon and that we'd all understand and respect his wishes no matter who he chose. He _knew _that he could have chosen anyone of us but…"

"But despite knowing that, he went and made the decision that made all of us happy: he chose _all_ of us. Up till that moment, and beyond even that, he always put our wants and our safety before his own. I know that it may seem weird that we'd be happy about sharing like that. But like I said; the Ala Alba was, and still _is_ a tight knit group. In fact, had your father chosen just one of us, I think that whoever he chose would have been too guilty and sad about the rest to actually enjoy it," Nodoka finished. Looks of understanding finally crossing the two teens.

They didn't get it completely, that much she could tell. Having a lot of experience in reading minds, one tends to get some good experience in matching expressions to a person's thoughts. They were still a little unsure about it, but it was enough for now.

She looked at the clock hanging on the wall. "Well, it's already nearing three o'clock. You two rest up, I'm sure that you both have a lot to think about. We'll be leaving in one and a half hour," the head of the house instructed.

The two teens stood up, almost compulsively, before Ranma looked towards his mother. "Where are we going? I thought that we were leaving for Britain tonight?"

She smiled back at her son. "Why… we're going to pick your stuff up from Nerima of course," she explained. Ranma gained a worried look on his face when he heard that; something that Nodoka had easily caught on to. "Don't worry Ranma. There won't be any trouble, just relax and let us handle things okay?" her son nodded, returning her now reassuring smile with a thankful one, before heading back to his room.

He stopped at the door. "So… I guess I'll be meeting all of my other sisters in Britain huh?"

"No, actually you'll meet them on the plain. We're taking a private flight."

With a final sigh, Ranma was out of the room and heading back towards the futon in his room. His mind jumbled with all the things he'd learned in such a short time.

-X-

Whew! Finally I'm finished. Again, sorry for the way over-delayed update, but I hope the huge word count is enough to make up for it. This very nearly doubles my entire story's word count. I'm hoping to be able to write chapters that are just as long as this one in the future, but don't get your hopes up.

Anyway, moving on. Apparently only three people decided to take last chapter's challenge, so I'm going to go ahead and just give them all prizes.

Let me just make this clear first. This story _will_ be a harem story on Ranma's part. I'm currently planning on five girls. One of them is decided, the three winners will decide three more and the last spot will be decided by a poll. Of course, your all going to have to wait till next chapter to cash the chance in. Or if you want, you can just go for a Nerima girl, just not Akane or Kodachi. But then, that would be a bit boring wouldn't you say? Oh well, I leave the decision in your capable hands. Till next time.

(1) The Memory sharing spell used by Negi to show Asuna his... well, memories. Pretty self explainatory, but if you want to read more, just go to the link on my profile.

(2) Modified version of the Ariadne school uniform, just so you know.

(3) Basicaly, it's the outfit that Negi wore while going to the gateport (you can see the OVA if you want) only with a fully repaired and designed robe. By the way, can someone give me an idea for Ostia's royal symbol if it were under Negi's rule

(4) It was once noted by Evangeline that Setsuna might be suffering from albinism. In here, she is, but no longer hides it.

(5) Try to guess where I got this one from

(6) Since the Compnita Deamonia has a demon sealed inside of it, I decided to give it an upgrade. You'll see more of this when the training starts.

(7) This _is_ an actual Shinmei-ryu technique. In fact, it was Aoyama Motoko's strongest technique.

(8) Konoka was noted to be training to be an onmyoji, despite studying under a western mage. She has to know easter magic by now.

(9) Verus means 'actual', in English. Mundus Verus literally means Actual World.

(10) Since the world tree started to shine a year early, I decided to make it permanent. Instead of after 22 years, it's now just 21.

(11) Again, guess where this came from. Hint: You may want to check up on facts about Nodoka.

Remember, Read and review.


	6. Chapter 6

Okay, I finally got this chapter out. One person suggested a few names for the criminal organization that targeted the royal family. Unfortunately, it was anonymous so I wasn't able to give a private reply.

As for the disclaimer: As I've said, I don't own a thing from Ranma 1/2, Negima, or whatever other thing I may throw in here. I only own the plot and my OCs.

**Chapter VI: An obscure plan, interrupted- Yume's latent power**

Ranma looked out towards the window as questioning stares were turned towards the car that was driving on Nerima's street. Not that he could really blame them; he was pretty shocked about the car himself when he first saw it.

There were two reasons for this: the first was the fact that the car itself was a _very_ luxurious stretch limousine; even having a long table in the middle of the passenger area where a thermos now sat. It was very finely coated with a deep crimson sheen. The second reason though, was something that made it stand out from other cars like it. On both sides of the vehicle was a large white wing, outlined in a shining silver colour. It spanned all the way from the driver's door the passengers' and had the words 'Ala Alba' written in deep azure above them. Needless to say, it was a surprising sight.

"So… how'd we end up riding this thing again?" Ranma asked out, not really questioning anyone in particular as he continued to gaze outside.

"Well it was sent to aunt Nodoka's house at around four by another one of mom's old friends to pick us up. Then some guys came in from a helicopter and took our luggage from aunt Haruna's car. After that, aunt Haruna left us, saying that she was going to go and take care of some things. All of this was set up by the owner and chairman of the Yukihiro zaibatsu, Yukihiro Ayaka, another former classmate of our mothers' and member of the Ala Alba."

"Oh… okay."

Once again, Ranma had returned back to staring out the window. It was, for once in the entire time he'd spent living there, a peaceful day in Nerima. No 'prepare to die' threats, no over eager fiancé's, no new martial artists and most of all, no general property damage. _"Then again, that's probably not going to last. *sigh* hopefully we'll at least make it to the airport on time. A fight is the last thing I need after all this crap."_

As the ride continued, Ranma's thoughts drifted back to the little chat that he had with his newly announced sibling. It was… interesting, to say the least. He didn't feel that same rise in his heart like when he had been alone with Akane a few months back; before the failed wedding. It did feel a bit awkward in the beginning though, but that didn't really last all that long. All in all, it was alright… until he got splashed; but even that made rise to a positive point.

-X-

Flashback…

Ranma was back in his room, once again lying down on his futon; his hand at the back of his head as he just stared at the ceiling. _"I can't believe how everything's happening now. I've been travelling for years with a thief who I thought were my father for fourteen whole years. And now… now I find out that I'm not really related to the guy."_

Ranma turned sideways as he released a heavy breath, propping his onto his right fist. _"Now that I think about it, I don't even know if I should be happy or angry. I mean, sure, the old panda __is__ a jerk, and he's pretty much caused nearly every major trouble in my life. But still."_

"_And really? A king? I go from being the heir of a dojo to the heir of an entire kingdom in just one day flat. But then again… I do have ten sisters, so that might not be completely sure. … Wait… ten sisters…?"_ he shivered, _"why do I get the feeling that I should be __really __worried."_

It was as he at that time when the doors to his room slid open. Just like earlier in the morning, the person that stood behind the boundary to his room was a short teenage girl with long, magenta hair.

"_Well speak of the devil."_

"Ranma-san, so you think I could stay here till we leave?"

At the mention of the honorific, Ranma released a deep breath. He really didn't like it when people added 'san' to his name. Even less considering that they were, apparently, siblings.

"Sure, but… could you please drop the 'san' already? Just Ranma is fine. I _am_ your brother after all," the martial artist requested.

Stopping for a moment, the shorter teen's head tilted to the side for a moment; her eyebrow arching. "Oh? Alright, I… guess you're right," she paused a tiny smile gracing her face, "nii-san."

Now there were many things that Ranma could say would never shock him, given everything that's happened in his life. Unfortunately, being called 'big brother' was not among those on the long list.

"Nii-san? Where'd that come from?" he asked, completely curious. He knew that he had a bunch of sisters now, but he didn't really expect any of them to actually call him brother. All of them had, after all, been separated even _before_ birth. Although… he had to admit, it actually felt… good… to be treated like family. The only other people that were ever like that to him, as far as he could tell were few in number: his mother, Kasumi and, in very, _very_ rare occasions, Nabiki (although more often than not, there was an ulterior motive involved… like all the time). It felt good to be treated with a little familial respect (or any kind of respect really)by someone his age. Sure, Kasumi was only two years older, but she acted way more mature compared to most others.

The expressionless gaze he got in return told him no clue at all. It took a while before she broke her blank stare, surprising him with the mirth on her face and in her voice. "Well… you _are_ my brother aren't you?"

The humour behind her words were not lost to him as he felt a small tick appear on his forehead as his own words were turned against him, but decided not to say anything. Besides, it looked like she was about to say something else anyway.

"I asked aunt Haruna in the hall earlier. Apparently, out of all of us, you're the oldest by a full five days. I'm nearly a month younger. The difference may not be much, but I've always wanted to call someone brother; whether older _or_ younger and actually mean it. The same goes for calling someone my sister."

Ranma's face formed an 'oh' with his mouth in understanding. He never really had that feeling before. At least not any time that he could remember. But then, it did sound like something many would want; at least from his point of view. Genma, despite only thinking that they were father and son, still wasn't exactly caring. For the most part, it was rare for him to experience familial conduct , so he only knew how to respond in a single way in this case: return the sentiment.

"Heh… I guess that _does_ make some sense… imouto," he responded with a smirk at the end. It was how he pretty much responded to anything really, unless of course if it was one of his admirers' shows of affection. If his rivals attack him, he'd retaliate. Right now, his sister had acknowledged him as her older brother, he'd acknowledge her as his younger sister. An act that made a smile appear on her formerly blank face.

The familial bond between the two may not have been strong, but like the connection between the two worlds, it was finally there. _"Now if only the others were this easy to get along with, then it wouldn't be all that hard to be their brother."_

But of course, Ranma had learned by now that he couldn't rely on luck in this kind of situation. He'd just have to see about the rest. Hopefully it wouldn't be too bad… yeah right.

Finally taking his invitation, the dark pinkette entered the room, closing the door behind her as she sat down, somehow pulling a drink can out from nowhere.

"So imouto… why'd you decide to come here anyway?" he asked the girl as she drank from the now opened container.

"Nothing much really, just a lot on my mind that I guess I need to think through. Since I couldn't seem to be able to do that on my own, I decided to go to the person that would probably be as new to most of this as I am."

"… Heh… I guess that makes sense." Ranma replied, "but then, I'm already a little used to this anyway. I might not be able to help you as much as you want."

"That's alright. I think that maybe the best thing I can do for now is to learn how to get along with my brother."

Silence passed over the room as they stayed in place. After a while though, the silence finally got into the martial artists nerves. Deciding that something needed to break the silence in the room, he asked a question that he'd asked himself at least a dozen times after returning to his room.

"So… what kind of person do you think he is?" he asked.

"Huh? He…? Oh, you mean our father?"

"Yeah," Ranma confirmed with a nod. "What do you think he's gonna be like? I don't wanna have to go from having an idiotic thief of a father to someone just as bad _and_ is a king."

For a moment, Yume just sat cross-legged in place; taking small sips from her drink can with a contemplative look. "Hmm… judging from aunt Haruna's manga, you definitely don't have to worry. While it should be expected that he won't act exactly be as he was depicted in aunt Haruna's works, given the circumstances as well as the seventeen years of separation. However, father was always shown to have been very honourable and faithful. He was also quite a prodigy in… well, everything really. He was a scholar, a powerful martial artist and an equally powerful mage(don't you dare say that he's a Mary sue… or whatever a guy version of that is called, all that was part of cannon). He may worry and beat himself up for what happened to us. But you definitely needn't worry." She explained, a small, reassuring smile on her lips.

A single eyebrow arched on Ranma's forehead as he heard that. "You're taking this news about our dad pretty easily, aren't ya?"

A soft chuckle was what he got in response as she put down the can in her hand. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But then again, my mother never really told me a lot about my father before today."

"A long time ago, I'd always ask her about my father: who he was, what he did… and why he wasn't with us." She recalled wistfully, before laughing silently once more. "To find that out now… along with everything else… well… I guess it's the last thing on my mind… with the whole 'existence of magic' and 'half siblings' thing and all that. *sigh* Besides, after reading the manga, I was kind of expecting it to have been Negi Springfield anyway. It did say that the characters were based off of real people after all. I just thought that maybe he ended up dying before I was born… it would've been ironic really."

"Hmm… well I guess if you put it that way."

For a moment the two of them just stayed still in silence, thinking. That is until Ranma remembered something of interest to him. "Oh, by the way, about those mangas that aunty gave you?"

"Huh? What about them?" her brow furrowed in curiosity as she asked.

"Do you think I could borrow the series? I really want to learn a bit more about mom and dad when they were… how old are they in that thing?"

"Fifteen at the start, seventeen when the crown was passed on." Yume responded casually, taking another sip right after. "If you want to read it before we meet the others, or at least our dad, then I'm afraid I can't help you. Mom made me leave all my manga at home. But if you really want to, you _could_ just ask aunt Haruna."

Ranma felt a shiver run down his spine at that thought. The woman had proved herself more merciful and compassionate than Nabiki, but she still gave him the creeps. _"If she can make anything she draws come to life, I definitely don't want to get on her bad side."_ He suppressed a second shudder at the thought. Getting someone who could instantly create a clone of you was _not_ a good idea in any way, shape or form.

"_At least it isn't Nabiki that has it."_ This time, it was impossible to hold back. The thought of just how much chaos that could cause was too much… and that was from the local chaos magnet. The young martial artist was practically quivering in terror at the thought. The only comfort in his mind was that Yume looked like she didn't see it. Even if he wasn't fully accustomed to the fact yet, his pride still wouldn't have allowed him to look that weak to his sister… hell, it wouldn't allow him to look weak in front of anyone.

"You know nii-san, the two of us may be siblings, but we don't know anything about each other do we?"

It was at that time that the distinctly chipper voice of one Saotome Haruna decided to shout. "Hey! Ranma-kun! Yume-chi! Our pick-up's about to get here. Get ready to leave!"

"Heh… guess we'll have to fix that on the way to Nerima then," Ranma commented.

Agreeing, Yume swiftly stood and turned to open the door. Unfortunately, she'd completely forgotten the still half-full drink can that was left by her feet. At the speed of her movement and the position of her feet, the container was sent flying in the air; spilling its contents on a certain cursed boy.

Hearing the distinctive sound of the small, metallic cylinder falling on the floor, Yume turned her head to look at what, to her, was an odd sight. In the place of her brother now sat a very annoyed, very frustrated and very busty redhead with her shirt soaking wet with the spilt drink.

Having already known the nature of the curse, she wasn't really surprised. A bit shocked at actually seeing it happen, yes. But that feeling soon faded. So other than a curious gaze, she didn't really pay much mind to it. Though, two thoughts did pop up in her mind at that time; both of which she decided to voice.

"You know nii-san, since we're going to the magic world, you should probably find a cure for that. Considering that it's a magic curse, it shouldn't be all _that_ hard to find. And we _are_, essentially, royalty, so resource won't be a problem either." Yume turned her head as she walked out, but not before leaving him with a second comment that sent a chill down his spine.

"I'd suggest that you do it quickly too. I'm not going to act that way any time soon. But remember, we have nine other sisters. Chances are, they're going to try and wring out your femininity out of you because of that curse." And with that, she left for the stairs.

Flashback end…

-X-

Ranma had found out one thing about Yume that had given him more proof that the two of them were truly siblings: Yume's attachment to magic. She took to the concept like Ranma himself would take to martial arts and, while previously having been incapable of learning to use it (having learned of its _true_ existence just recently), had been as enthusiastic at the prospect of being trained to use it just as much as him when it came to a new technique.

He had to suppress a laugh when he remembered the younger (if only by a few weeks) girl's antics the moment she saw her mother. Even the usually highly composed Ayase Yue was taken aback when her daughter had shouted, forgiven and then begged her for magic training. Although it also gave her some form of relief from what Ranma could tell. After being berated by Yume for keeping such a big part of her life a secret from her, the elder Ayase was all but expecting to be forgiven just as fast.

The fact that Yume actually went on her knees to ask for training was a little over the top in Ranma's opinion. Though, when he thought back to it, there was at least one time he did something like that himself so he couldn't really say anything.

Before his mind could wander any further, the loud noise of… something, broke him out of his musings. And he wasn't the only one. The other occupants of the car's compartment were now also paying attention as the noise grew louder and louder.

It didn't take the gender cursed fighter a lot of time to figure things out what was the cause… though then again, most of the locals probably would have taken just as little, if not less time. The noise was easy to identify once they were close enough. It was mostly a lot of people shouting, accompanied by a distinctively loud crash or two. To anyone else, such a description could only mean one thing, there was a war going on; something that would inspire the fear of losing one's life. For the residents of Nerima, it was just a normal fight between the Nerima wrecking crew that would inspire fear in the local insurance agencies that were stupid enough to give insurance policies to said residence, and joy to the local repair men, all of whom had earned ten times as much as others of their line of work every day.

It didn't take long for the limousine to reach the source of the noise, which, to Ranma's dismay, was also their destination. Though truthfully, he wasn't at all surprised. Given all the events after the failed wedding, his absence, even if what was only one night, would have still garnered some attention from his usual rivals and admirers. Add in Nabiki's information selling business –not to mention the rumours she'd occasionally add in to make an extra profit– and there was bound to be trouble.

Yells could be heard from behind the walls of the Tendo dojo as the pigtailed boy stepped out of the vehicle with a tired sigh.Nodoka too, stepped out of the luxurious car and stood at the wooden gates; a serious expression on her face.

"So… are we just gonna sneak in there and take my stuff?" Ranma inquired as they stood in front of the gates, not really wanting to be caught up in the mess within. _"Normally, I wouldn't mind having a good fight. But last thing I want is to be chased all the way to another country."_

Despite her serious visage, the mind reading woman couldn't help but give a quite, but humourless laugh. "I wish. While doing that would undoubtedly be simpler and easier, it would also cast some suspicions towards your location and cause trouble in the future."

She turned her gaze to her son, "no, we need to take a more tactical approach on this. While I'm certain that suspicions will arise no matter what will happen, given all the paranoia of your fiancés… or, should I say, _former_ fiancés –particularly Akane– we should at least be able to lessen it to a great extent if the right steps are taken."

Seeing the logic behind her reasoning, the young man nodded before adopting a calm demeanour… until a certain comment from his mother finally hit home.

"_Former_ fiancés? Serious?" he asked loudly, something that would have been heard by the occupants of the house in front of them, had it not been for the even louder screams of pure feminine fury that blared from the other side of said house, accompanied by a flying human body dressed in blue… who, unfortunately for him, wasn't superman. No, this one was a brown haired, boken(1) wielding, high-school boy dressed in a blue and black kendoka(2) uniform.

There was only one such person that existed in all of Nerima as far as anybody was concerned. One of the earlier members of the Nerima wrecking crew, Kuno Tatawaki flew through the sky and landed smack dab onto the limousine that the mother and son duo were previously sitting inside of. The loud 'thud' of metal hitting flesh causing the remaining two passengers, as well the driver to take a peek out of the window to the top of the car.

"_It's a good thing that that car is made of reinforced crusite alloy(3). … Still can't believe Iincho managed to get enough of that exported over to this world to actually build three of those cars in less than a year. Then again, it's just the armour plating so it wasn't really that much,"_ were the thoughts of one Ayase Yue.

Not really surprised by the sight, given the number of times she'd witnessed the event herself, Nodoka decided to answer. "Of course I'm serious sochi. Remember, save for Shampoo, all of your other fiancés were made by Genma. However, as he is not your actual father, he had absolutely no rights to arrange a marriage for you. They're his problem now."

"So I don't have to marry Akane or Ukyo anymore?" he asked, not really sure what to feel. Yes, Akane had given him a lot of trouble, but still…

"Not unless you want to, no." Nodoka answered, turning her eyes towards him for a brief moment, before going back to the wooden gates. "However, I definitely wouldn't recommend it."

"I won't lie to you, I had some high hopes for Akane when I first met her. It was like seeing Anya-chan all over again. However, I've seen enough to know that she is definitely _nothing_ like Anya-chan. Ukyo, I can understand. While she isn't completely what I would expect for a daughter in law, she does have some redeeming qualities. The same goes for Shampoo"

The mind reader walked forward, prompting her son to do the same before she gave her final remark. "In the end, it's your choice. But think of it on this…" she paused for a second, turning to look over her shoulders at the pigtailed boy, "whether or not you are chosen to succeed your father as the ruler of Ostia, the person you marry will still have a large amount of power over the kingdom. Do you honestly want to give that kind of power to someone as horribly tempered as Akane or as much of a lunatic as Kodachi?"

Before Ranma had any time to think about her words, his mother had already opened the wooden gates and started walking along the stone path to the main door.

-X-

A few minutes ago-Tendo dojo…

As per usual, the Tendo dojo was in a state of chaos. There wasn't as much destruction as usual, but it was still pretty hectic. Then again, anything that involved more than one of the Nerima wrecking crew was bound to be like that, so it didn't come as much of a surprise that the situation was bad.

It all started out pretty simply. When Ranma hadn't arrived at school, Ukyo had gotten curious and came over as soon as she could. Shampoo arrived a little later, crashing through the wall; looking to find Ranma, as per usual. Kuno also arrived to… well he _is_ Kuno, it _should_ be obvious why he came to the Tendo dojo. Kodachi came later for… well… what the hell else does she go to the Tendo dojo for? Mousse followed Shampoo and then Ryoga appeared from out of nowhere when P-chan vanished(at least as far as gorilla girl knew).

Of course, considering that Ranma hadn't come back from his flight the previous night, there wasn't really all that much fighting of the physical type. No, instead of the usual fists, feet, sword swings, ribbons, spatulas and various sharp objects (courtesy of Mousse) being thrown about, the choice of weapons used were words… in the beginning anyway.

The moment Ukyo came into her sights, Akane had made one of her usual outbursts and claimed that the 'perverted freak' had been staying over at the okonomiyaki chef's home. Likewise, the 'amazon hussy' was also accused. Not that they really would have minded had the accusation been true (save for the insults). Kuno tried to grope Akane and was promptly knocked unconscious. Kodachi demanded for Ranma's location and, of course, ended up getting the same treatment from Akane as the previous other two girls. All it took was a single insult (take your pick, there's plenty to choose from) from the blue haired tomboy to start a fight between the two, later joined by Ukyo and shampoo.

Mousse came in without his glasses on and tried to hug Shampoo… again. Unfortunately, he ended up grabbing Kodachi instead, causing both of them to get hit with Ukyo's giant spatula. This, of course, angered the psychotic girl even more than she already was at being hugged by someone other than 'her Ranma-sama'. The result was a Chinese hidden weapon's master getting thrown in the direction of the koi pond.

Not wanting to turn into a duck, he used a claw like weapon and attached it to a wall in order to pull himself in another direction… which was right where Mr. Psycho Kendo had just regained consciousness. The resulting crash lead to an irate Kuno who proceeded to (unsuccessfully) slash at the white robed amazon with his boken, all the while shouting 'how there you strike Kuno Tatawaki, you foreign peasant' among other things.

It was during this event that the little black piglet, dubbed as P-chan, decided to make his exit; hoping to find Ranma and beat him up for 'hurting Akane and putting her in danger'. only to reappear in his original form. However, given his sense of direction (or lack thereof), the little pig only ended up bursting through the backyard wall in his original form (a fact not known only by princess paranoia and the psycho siblings). Unfortunately, this happened just as Mousses had hammered Kuno (literally) towards said wall.

Acting upon complete instinct, the bandana wearing globe trotter grabbed the umbrella that rested upon his back and swung it at the offending object (in every possible sense of the term), batting him away to near where the girls were having their own fight.

Then, following the obscene chain of ridiculously unlikely events: Akane, at that time, had just jumped out of getting hit by a rain of spatulas thrown by Ukyo. This unwittingly put her in the direct path of the fast approaching Kuno.

Focusing intently on her fight, it was already too late when she finally noticed the flying kendoka. Kuno had already smashed into her before she could get out of the way, causing the pair to tumble head over heels on the ground until Akane had hit the wall with the back of her skull, head spinning both from the swift roll as well as the impact from the collision.

As soon as she was completely relieved of her dizziness, the youngest Tendo was treated to something that made her very, very, _very_ angry. Just as many would anticipate from what happened, Kuno was definitely on top of her, that in itself was bad enough. The fact that the two of them had ended up in the sixty-nine position was what added an entire warship's worth of fuel to the proverbial fire.

Spiked with intense rage, the violent girl quickly threw the kendoka off her before bringing her 'mallet of impending doom' out into her hands. As soon as Kuno fell close enough, she swung the mallet in a wide arch, hitting the blue clad (wannabe) swordsman skywards.

The entire yard became quiet for a short moment until they saw the blue clad teen descend from his impromptu flight via mallet airways. As soon as he was out of sight, Kodachi turned a pointed glare towards the blunnete.

"So it's not only enough for you to whisk away my Ranma-sama, but you also do so with my brother! A fool he might have been, but even he does not deserve such treatment from a whench like you!" she shouted in outrage, slipping into a fighting stance; her ribbon and clubs, primed and ready. "This time, I _will_ rid this world of you permanently! Not just for my Ranma-sama, but also for the name of the Kuno family!"

With that, Kodachi swung her arm, lashing out with her ribbon towards Akane; continuing their fight. Mousse and Ryoga, on the other hand, having no one to really fight, just decided to stay there and watch. The former in order to try and woo Shampoo later, and the latter to ensure Akane's safety; both staying out of the fight unless absolutely necessary out of fear of getting caught up in the battle. After all, as they say, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned; and in front of them were four such people (though one of them is debatable).

Having already been used to the regular insanity, the other people who were living within the Tendo home simply continued on with their usual activities. Genma and Soun were playing shogi, Nabiki was in the living room reading a manga, Happosai, surprisingly, was very subdued, opting to drink some tea with Kasumi as they watched the fight; though the old pervert did seem very excited when Kodachi's ribbon and Ukyo's spatulas had ended up cutting the other girls' clothing. Kasumi just watched on with her usual calm demeanour. Inwardly though, she was just as worried about Ranma's whereabouts as Ukyo or Shampoo, albeit to a slightly lesser degree.

It was during this time that the doorbell rung, momentarily distracting the fighters. The shogi playing duo also paused for a second, turning their heads in the general direction of where the main entrance would be, before going back to their game.

"Oh my, I wonder who that could be? I'll go get the door," Kasumi said in her usual cheerful tone as she stood up and walked to the front gates.

"That must be that ungrateful son of mine come back. Feh… leaving like that at night without even saying anything and not coming back till nearly an entire day. And to top it off, he left his fiancé alone and still hasn't apologized to her." Genma complained, fixing his glasses in place.

"Now, now Saotome, I'm sure the boy didn't mean any harm. I'm sure that he was simply challenged by somebody and now he's on his way here to apologize for what he did. And I'm sure that once he does, our schools will be closer to being joined! After all, as they say, absence does make the heart grow fonder," Soun said jovially as he looked at his old training partner. Of course, given the relationship between some of the listeners towards said boy, a very predictable reaction was roused from some in the small group of fighters.

"Like hell I'll marry that stupid pervert!"/"Shampoo never let violent kitchen destroyer marry airen!"/"The love between Ranma-sama and myself will never be beaten by this peasant's foul trickery!" three of the girls shouted simultaneously. Ukyo being the only one that stayed quiet, opting instead to simply give a heavy glare towards the duo.

The sudden animosity that filled the air signified the continuation of another fight had it not been for the voice of one Kasumi Tendo.

"Oh! Aunty Nodoka, what a surprise! It's been a while. Please, come in. I see that Ranma is with you as well." came the voice of the eldest Tendo daughter, eliciting a surprised, and, in the case of one Saotome Genma, fearful expression; internally hoping that the brunette had been mistaken.

"Thank you Kasumi-kun. It really has been too long," the voice of Nodoka replied, solidifying the dread in the white clad martial artist's mind.

"Where's my husband, by the way. I need to have a few words with him," she continued after a pause. This time however, all those in the vicinity were able to notice a clear edge in her tone that made the volume of her statement sound forced. It didn't take a genius to know that it was meant to inspire some fear towards someone. And it took even less of a genius to know that that someone was a _very_ nervous Saotome Genma.

"_Nodoka really is here! No… this isn't good. She's definitely angry that's for sure. That idiot son of mine had better not have done anything to get us both killed."_ Genma thought worriedly. Sweating a little as the telltale sounds of people walking in through the halls closed in towards the room they were in.

Sure enough, the doors soon slid open, allowing for Kasumi to re-enter the room, soon followed by a blank faced Nodoka and a very uncertain Ranma.

The sudden change in atmosphere around the room and in the yard was enough to stop even the martial artists outside from continuing their fight. Although the fact that they didn't want to anger their object of affection's mother may have had something to do with it as well.

Even the age old master's face had shifted into a serious frown. He spared a long glance at the kimono clad woman who, for a brief moment, stared him right in the eyes as well, as if giving him silent warning not to do anything to interfere with whatever was to come. There was a foreign aura in the air, radiating from her in waves. He could feel it. An aura that he hadn't felt in a long time.

Images of a small blonde girl appeared in his mind, surrounded by a menacingly cold aura. Her glowing, blood red eyes piercing through his very soul as she raised her arm; creating a giant ball of freezing death high above her head. Her entire body covered in esoteric markings that contrasted her pitch black skin, driving an inherent fear within him to the forefront; paralyzing him with fear, even as she commanded the giant orb to crash towards him.

Happosai shook his head to clear himself of those thoughts. _"Yes,"_ he said to himself, _"It's definitely like that girl's. It's less oppressive… it doesn't seem demonic in nature either, but… whatever energy Genma's wife is exuding right now… it's definitely the same as that girl's."_

He took one last look at the woman who seemed to radiate a sense of foreboding within all those around her. _"So… that's it huh? A mage. I haven't seen one of those in over a hundred years. It doesn't help that their all so secretive about being one. I always knew that there was something odd about Ranma… but to think that it came from his mother. I should probably thread things carefully with her around."_

The two new arrivals sat down on the side of the table closest to the entrance as Kasumi returned to her place, seemingly unaffected by the odd energy in the air. The other's though, were not as carefree. All those that stood in the now ruined yard of the Tendo household all slid out of their respective stances, each one staring at the woman as the eldest Tendo daughter offered her some tea, which she gladly accepted.

Nodoka eyed all of the teenage martial artists that stood in the damaged grounds one by one, before settling on a girl with short, blue hair. The gaze that she sent Akane was unreadable in appearance alone, but the feeling of unease that it resonated was clear.

This same gaze was turned towards the thick bodied form of Saotome Genma who held a falsely courageous façade. A façade that would fool many had it not been for the fact that he was shooting out beads of sweat. It didn't help that he was also quivering in place.

"All of you come in and sit down. I want each and every single one of you to hear what I have to say," she instructed firmly, leaving no room for arguments. Turning to the eldest Tendo daughter, she gave another command: "Kasumi-kun, would you please get Nabiki-kun in here as well?"

"Hmm? Well, alright," she replied simply, leaving the room once more to get her younger sister.

Once the elder two of the Tendo siblings were both sat in place, Nabiki asked the one question on everyone's mind: "so aunty, what's this all about?"

Keeping her cool composure, the elder woman gave her reply. "First of, Akane…" she said, turning all attention towards the short haired girl. "Tell me Akane, do you intend to marry my son?" she asked pointedly towards the Tendo heiress.

"What kind of question is that? Of course Akane will marry Ranma!" Soun erupted, springing up to his feet.

"That's right! How could you even ask such a thing? For Ranma to marry Akane is a matter of family honour!" Genma joined in, copying his old friend.

Their response was a very, _very_ heated glare. Once more, the two martial artists felt an extremely heavy aura emanate from Nodoka. An aura that caused Genma to involuntarily shiver. And he wasn't the only one: Ranma, Ryoga, Mousse and Shampoo, all four of them quivered from an unknown fear at the presence of the oppressive energy.

Cowed, the two master relented and sat back down.

"I wasn't asking _either of you _for an answer. I was asking Akane. You will _not_ answer for her, am I clear?"

It was more of a demand rather than a question, if the dark tone of her voice was any indication. It took the two men by complete surprise, Genma in particular. In all the years that he'd known his wife (which was very short mind you), he had never once seen her act like this.

"I _said_, am. I. clear?" she asked in an even darker voice, stressing every single word while flaring her aura even more. The two men simply nodded shakily in fear.

Inwardly, Nodoka smiled. _"I really have to thank Paru and Mana-san for all those interrogation lessons they gave me back then. It may not exactly be the pins and bracelets_(4)_ treatment, but then again, that's never really been how I do things."_

"Now… Akane, I ask you again: do you intend to marry my son?" she repeated in a level voice, staring intently at the girl. "And I don't want any lies. I want the whole truth. Right here, right now."

Akane frowned. "Like I would ever marry someone like him," she answered venomously

"Oh? And what exactly is wrong with my son?" Nodoka asked coolly as seventeen years of practice at hiding her emotions from those around her came into play. Her voice even, but hiding a deep threat that few could perceive.

"To be frank aunty: he's a no good cheater. I mean, haven't you noticed at all?" she asked incredulously, as she stood up in agitation, pointing her hand at the other three female martial artists. "Every single day, this stupid pervert just keeps going out with these no good hussies. He doesn't even care about me! How do you expect me to marry someone like that!"

By the time she finished her rant, glares were already being thrown around the room. Ranma, was glaring at Akane for his accusations while Shampoo, Ukyo and Kodachi glared at her for her insults. Meanwhile, Soun, Genma, Ryoga and Mousse were all staring heatedly at Ranma; the first two for making Akane say that she didn't want to marry him, Ryoga for 'hurting' Akane, and Mousse due to the idea of Ranma being with Shampoo. The old, diminutive little master simply kept a level gaze towards all the occupants. Kasumi looked displeasingly at Akane and finally, Nabiki was looking at the situation with analytical eyes.

Nodoka on the other hand, remained calm and composed, completely emulating her best friend and former rival as she drank the tea she was previously offered. "Very well then." She said simply, breaking the long silence.

"Since that's the way you feel…" she paused, taking another drink before pointing an icy stare towards the youngest Tendo. "If that is the way you see things, then you don't need to worry anymore. As of this moment, the engagement between you and my son no longer exists," she announced, silencing all those within the room as the information seeped into their minds.

There were mixed reactions to the announcement from everyone in the room. Predictably, the three female martial artists were overjoyed at having one of their rivals eliminated from the running; though only the leotard clad gymnast showed signs of it. Happosai, Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane were understandably shocked, though all but the last were able to shake themselves out of it. Ryoga, as well, was also happy at the news. Mousse wasn't really sure what to think. Genma and Soun on the other hand…

"**What do you mean that the engagement no longer exists!"** Soun shouted, his ki taking the form of a giant demonic head in hopes of getting a faster answer.

"What is the meaning of this woman! How can you just make an announcement like that! It is part of Ranma's obligations as the heir to the Saotome Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu(5) to marry Akane and reunite the two schools! It's a matter of family honour!" Genma retorted angrily.

"Like you would know anything about honour! You dirty, no good, rotten thief!" Ranma shouted out, finally getting tired of simply sitting still.

The burly man turned towards the pigtailed martial artist. "Don't you talk to your father like that you ungrateful lout. After all these years that I've taken care of you, this is how you repay me!" he shouted angrily, gritting his teeth as he stared the younger martial artist down.

"Enough!" Nodoka shouted, causing the two to back down in surprise. She turned towards the large man.

"Listen here Genma," she commanded in a seething voice. "I don't care _what_ sort of arrangement you've made for Ranma's life, however, I will _not_ let it stand if his so called 'fiancé' doesn't even trust him. Even if you claim that his marriage is something that required of his family honour, I will _still_ not allow it when _you_, the very cause of all of his arranged marriages, are dishonourable yourself."

"Hold on a second! You can't do that! Ranma is _my_ fiancé!" Akane protested, banging her fist on the table.

"The hell she can't! Don't forget: this is Ranma's mother. She has just as much say on this matter as his father does." Ukyo countered, finally getting into the argument. This was followed by similar comments from her two rivals.

"But their engagement was a promise me and Soun made before he was even born!" complained the heavily built fighter desperately

"One that was also made before the two of us even met and one that I had never been informed about till I finally met the Tendo family," she opposed coldly, stopping any other form of complaint with her tone.

"Until now, I've always held my word against it as I thought that Akane might have just been a good match for Ranma," Nodoka explained, staring intently at the girl. "Unfortunately, it seemed that as time passed by, their relationship only grew worse."

"Whenever something even remotely concerns Ranma, Akane always ends up jumping to the worst of conclusions at the drop of a hat and assaulting him, half the time when it's her own fault. She takes out all of her frustrations against him and never allows him to explain himself before acting up. For too many times I've witnessed her make wild accusations about Ranma with the barest amount of proof. I will never allow such a person to become my daughter-in-law."

Her words were sure and precise, her face showing complete seriousness and clearly not in the mood to argue. The Tendo patriarch though, was not yet ready to back down.

"Wait a second here Nodoka-san, surely we can reach a compromise for this," the long haired man pleaded, switching tactics from complaining to attempting to appease the woman.

"A compromise? I don't see how we could possibly reach _any_ compromise _now_ Tendo," the mind reader shot out vehemently, causing the older man to back up as the air around her flared once more.

"Uh… p-please, just… just give Akane a bit more time. I'm sure that if she just had a little more time then you would have no complaints about the two getting married. A-after all, you did say that Akane might have been a good match for Ranma-kun right?" Soun implored desperately.

To his dismay, the scowl that Nodoka held deepened even more, and had it not been the contemplative look in her eyes, he would have had to resort to something drastic. An act that the Tendo patriarch somehow knew would end up badly for him.

But while Soun, as well as Genma, were both relieved by her apparent choice for a second chance, a certain party definitely was not.

"You can't seriously be considering this are you aunty?" Ukyo asked out disbelievingly.

"Spatula girl is right! Airen's mother already said that violent girl always hurt airen! She no deserve second chance!" Shampoo followed, trying to reason with the elder woman.

"As much as I hate agreeing with a couple of peasants, I have to side with them on this matter. Ranma-sama doesn't deserve to be treated like that by this peasant of a girl." Kodachi joined in, for once, siding with her two adversaries.

The older woman kept her contemplative expression. Sparing a glance at the still silent listeners, she decided on her next step.

"Kasumi-kun," she spoke, getting the attention of the gentle Tendo daughter. "Among everyone in the Tendo family, I trust your word the most. So tell me: do you think I should give your sister another chance?"

The angelic Tendo's head sprang up at the question in mild surprise. She looked towards the pleading expression on her father's and Genma's face that practically begged her to say yes, the scowls of Ranma's three other regular admirers, each one wearing a deep frown, the curious stares of her middle sister and the four other male occupants of the room… and then finally at her youngest sister who glowered hatefully at the young man in pigtails.

"_I'm probably going to regret this."_ Kasumi mentally told herself.

"Aunty, with all due respect, I believe that you should give Akane another chance. If Akane can just learn to control her temper, I'm pretty sure that Ranma and her would have no problems." Kasumi finally replied, much to the joy of the two men and the displeasure of Ranma's three admirers. Ranma himself looked a little crestfallen.

A slight frown made its way to Nodoka's features, indicating her own disappointment. The woman sighed. "Alright then…" she relented, causing Soun and Genma to do a celebratory dance in their heads.

"I'll give you until me and Ranma return," she continued, causing the others to look at her in surprise. The very implication of Ranma going away for a while left for two very happy cursed martial artists while leaving most of the females in the room slightly depressed. Ranma though, by this time, was just confused at his mother's actions.

"R-re-turn? No-chan, what do you mean 'return'?" Genma asked curiously, hiding his nervousness at her statement. Everybody else listened in as well, eager to find out what she meant.

Nodoka repressed the urge grit her teeth in anger. _"Only my friends and my __real__ husband have the right to call me that."_

However, despite her irritation, the purple haired woman kept a calm front. Her face never betraying her emotions as she looked at the cowardly bear of a man. "My old high school friend arranged a two week reunion for our old class in Wales and I've decided to take Ranma along with me. We're leaving tonight and came here to get everything that Ranma will need. I was planning on having him live with me right afterwards."

"What! You can't do that! Ranma and Akane _must_ be together as much as possible!"

Nodoka looked at the enraged Tendo patriarch with a deep scowl and determined eyes, unrelenting of her decision. "I _can_ and I _will_, Tendo-san. From everything that I've observed, Akane will never be able to improve herself while my son is around. Therefore, the smartest thing to do would naturally be to temporarily separate them while Akane learns to better manage her anger."

Despite wanting to make another retort, Soun simply held his tongue. There wasn't anything that he could argue about with what she said. Yes, he disagreed with the idea that Akane, _his_ 'lovely' daughter Akane, could ever be bad at managing her temper, but that matter seemed to have been fixed already. All they would have had to do was unite the schools before the time limit expired. But with Ranma gone, such a thing became impossible. And to make it worse, her logic was completely sound. There was nothing he could do that could possibly work.

The mage turned her gaze away from the emotional man to his eldest child. "Kasumi-kun, Nabiki-kun, I ask you two to please teach your sister how to behave herself, otherwise, I will _ensure_ that the two of them will never get married."

As soon as the information firmly sunk into the three Tendo sisters, her attention focused onto the other three girls in the room. "That leaves us to you three." Nodoka said, immediately getting their undivided attention.

"As I will not give Akane another chance should she fail, I'd like to ask all three of you not to interfere. I'm afraid that if she loses focus on this task, then her chances of curbing her temper will falter. I'm aware that she may just blame you all for her own failure, like she has done in several occasions before…"

"Hey!" the blunette shouted in protest, only to back down as a powerful pressure of energy fell upon her as the elder woman glared.

"As I was saying. I'm well aware that she may blame you all for her own failure, so I will not believe such accusations without proof, so you need not worry without being framed. However, if I do hear that you _have_ interfered with her attempt from either Kasumi or Nabiki, then you too, will no longer be considered eligible to be my son's bride. I hope you understand?" Nodoka finished, now focusing intently at the three young women.

All of them nodded, forcing a smile to come on to her face. "Good. Now that that's been taken care of. Ranma, I believe we need to go and get everything that you'll need," Nodoka said as she stood up and walked out, her son following close behind as they left the room, heading towards the guest's quarters where the pigtailed boy slept.

-X-

As soon as mother and son were out of hearing range, Nodoka released a deep and tired breath, her head cast down a little as if suffering from exhaustion. Ranma looked at her with a mix of irritation and curiosity.

"Umm… what was that all about?" he asked softly, clearly confused but not wanting to let the others hear there conversation.

"What was what about?" Nodoka asked back just as quiet.

"Why didn't you just tell them the truth? I mean, wouldn't it have been better if you just told them that the panda wasn't my real dad and that the engagements were cut off?"

Nodoka sighed once more. "To be honest, I'm pretty sure that that would have been easier as well but…"

"But what?"

"Well, Paru's plans have always had a better chance of success than anything I've ever thought up, so I just followed her script."

A black eyebrow arched as the two walked up the stairs. "Paru?" Ranma asked simply.

"It's Haruna's nickname. She's the best strategist in all of the magic community that I know of." Nodoka looked back at him, seeing a sceptical face on her son. "I'm pretty sure you've noticed it as well didn't you. When you're around her, when she smirks, or when she gets a certain glint in her eyes. It all feels like your around Nabiki, only much, much worse right?"

"Huh?" he looked at his mother curiously, "well… yeah. How'd you know?"

At this, the woman chuckled. "To be honest, I felt something similar the first time I met Nabiki actually. When I first saw how she acted: the way she talks and how she acts, her expressions. It was like I was looking at Haruna when I first met her… minus her artistic talents, of course."

"Oh, so… what, aunt Haruna's the same as Nabiki?" The cursed the aquasexual asked in worry, prompting another small laugh from his mother.

"No, I wouldn't say the same. More like… similar, really. For one thing, she's better at formulating plans. I'd be willing to bet my life that Paru would be able to see through any of Nabiki's plans without even much effort. And I'm pretty sure that Nabiki would fall into any one of Paru's plans should she actually take it seriously. However, be that as it may, Haruna has never once used her skills for money. Heh… although, I would worry about getting blackmailed. It wouldn't exactly be something new when it comes to her."

"Gee that makes me feel _so_ much better," came the sarcastic reply. "So… what _is_ the point of her plan anyway? I don't really see anything special about it" Ranma inquired.

He was disappointed by her response: "*sigh* to be honest sochi, I haven't a single clue. Aside from being known among the magic world as one of the best tacticians in existence, she was also known as one of the most secretive ones. She hardly ever reveals the inner workings of her plans to _anyone_ unless it's extremely important, and even _then_ she'll usually keep her ace in the hole a secret."

"So in other words: you said all that without even knowing why." Ranma stated bluntly, getting a nod from his mother.

The two of them finally entered the relatively empty room where the cursed martial artist headed for where he kept his clothes. "But you know, I still don't really get _why_ we didn't tell them that we aren't really Saotome. I'd think that would've made things easier, don't you think mom?" he asked while stacking his shirts on the ground.

"Hmm… actually, doing that could have probably gone either way. I mean really, it's true that all those arranged marriages that Genma set up wouldn't hold any sway over you anymore. But you have to remember sochi, they aren't the only ones that have a claim on you."

"The Joketsuzoku."

"Precisely. As your engagement with Shampoo was not arranged with by Genma… " she started explaining, spitting out the name with venom, "then they will come unopposed. Chances are, this would end up with Shampoo becoming even more clingy than usual. You can probably guess Mousse's reaction to that, can't you?"

"He'd get even angrier at me and start another fight," the boy answered.

"One that could possibly lead to more trouble than it's worth. While that might not necessarily be the case, it's still very possible, so this course of action is probably better. I may not approve of everything that Haruna's plan includes; giving that girl another chance like that. However, knowing her, this will probably bring more misery to Akane than simply cutting the engagement off directly. The only question is: how?"

The pigtailed boy rubbed his head in thought, trying to think of the results that could occur with everything that was said and done. "I got nothing," he concluded, giving up on trying to figure out the puzzle that was his godmother's intricate plan. Soon, the two finally finished packing all of Ranma's clothes, along with what little other essentials he possessed and finally left the room.

Unbeknownst to them, they never noticed the diminutive figure of the wrinkled out grandmaster appearing in the room, as if the air itself transformed into his being.

"_So, that's it eh? I knew something odd was going on. Heh… I always knew that Genma was a fool but… to not even know that Ranma isn't his own son?"_ the age old master asked himself as he stood in silence._ "Either Ranma is a bastard child, or, more likely, Genma was –and probably still __is__– an even bigger fool than I thought."_

Sitting down in the middle of the now empty room, Happosai pulled out his pipe from within his sleeves as he closed his eyes meditatively, contemplating upon all that he witnessed. Then, as if waking up from death, the shrivelled up old man's eyes suddenly opened into a concentrated glare as he threw his pipe towards the open window, his ki infused into it as it flew towards empty air.

*crack*

Or at least, _seemingly_ empty air. Small sparks flew from out of nowhere as the unlit pipe floated just outside the window with its handle, for some reason, missing. Then, nearly as fast as the small makeshift projectile had flown, an odd, capsule like object appeared from thin air; the pipe having apparently broken through what appeared to be a camera lens that was situated near the top of the device.

Happosai's frown deepened. _"That thing… is a magic device. A camera, from the looks of it. Hmm… so that's what's been giving me such an odd feeling for the past few months. The energy within it was extremely weak until I broke it so… it must have been under some form of cloaking magic." _A meditative expression once more passed by the ancient man's face. _"Could this… possibly be a part of the plan that this 'Haruna' woman has concocted?"_ a dark smirk formed on his lips, _"looks like things are going to be a bit more fun around here when the boy comes back. Heheheh… I can hardly wait."_

At that last thought, the founder of the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu left the room with in a casual, Nerima-esque stride… in other words, he jumped out of the window and started rooftop hopping.

"_Well, until he __does__ come back, nothing's going to be able to stop me from going on my daily and nightly raids. I might as well enjoy it while it lasts."_

-X-

Border of Itabashi-ku…(6)

Haruna frowned as she looked upon the floating, see through screen; now having changed from showing the confines of the Tendo guest room to nothing but static after it was struck by the small metal implement. Her eyes darted quickly towards the woman beside her.

She was someone that many would call a true beauty and, had it not been for the fact that she was already married, would probably have a long line of guys that were waiting to go out with her. Hell, the fact that she was married didn't even hinder some of the more aggressive men that she knew. Not that any of their advances ever worked.

Her long red hair was tied up in high pony-tale and had a few long bangs framed her face; one of them even reaching down to her neck, nearly covering her right eye as it curved around it, giving her a more sensual look. She had a well proportioned body –clearly kept in good shape– with a very generous pair of G-cups.

The red head was clad in a red, pinstripe, sleeveless turtleneck, form fitting jeans and an open, brownish-red blazer.

Joining the two women were another pair of younger looking girls. The first one could easily be identified as the redhead's daughter. She was fourteen years old (though those that saw her body tend to say otherwise), and was, much like her mother, very well endowed and held a well proportioned shape. Her red hair –a darker shade than that of her mother's– fell freely past her shoulders in waves.

Her clothes consisted of a black tank top that exposed her well toned stomach and a blue, midriff, open jacket along with a pair of black biker shorts and light blue sneakers with black stripes.

The second girl looked more like a Japanese student from the late nineteen hundreds… which in fact, she was. The girl had cascading, greyish-brown hair and was clad in a black sailor fuku with a red ascot. However, despite her seemingly young appearance, this girl was even older than all of the other three occupants combined.

"It seems that the cloaking spell that your husband put on your golems have just been proven useless against the old master… Kazumi-chan," Haruna stated truthfully.

"Looks that way," Kazumi replied before turning to her old friend and partner in crime. "But… I have to ask: why are you talking like that?" she asked, slightly annoyed.

What she got was a smirk in return. "No reason really. Just thought that it'd fit the situation better," Haruna answered in a mirth filled voice.

"I wonder why he wasn't able to notice them before. I mean, mom's been spying on all of those guys for nearly half a year now," the unnamed daughter wondered.

"Yeah well, he never really focused on sensing it until now. From the looks of it, I'd say that he already had previous experience with mages before now. I can't tell for sure, but that's the most likely case," the mangaka surmised, fixing her glasses as her contemplative expression morphed into a toothy smirk.

"Looks like I'm going to have to adjust my plans a little. I'm gonna have a lot of fun with this."

The younger redhead looked at the older woman as she smiled creepily. "Umm… speaking of that. Saotome-san."

The feral smile on Haruna's face dropped just as fast as it appeared, replaced with clear annoyance. "How many times do I have do I have to tell you Kana-chan, just call me aunty. I don't like being called by my family name. It makes me feel old."

"But you _are_ old… Saotome-san," Kana piped out cheekily, mischief evident in her words.

Haruna's face just grew angrier. "I'm only 35 dammit!" she burst out, drawing a pair of amused laughs from the other two occupants, much to Haruna's ire.

"Hahahahahaha… you don't have to get so angry Paru. You know that she's only joking," the light brunette cheerily pointed out.

"Sayo's right Haruna," Kazumi seconded, turning her head to look at her old classmate.

The taller woman continued to grit her teeth for a moment, still fuming from the joke before finally, albeit hesitantly taking a calming breath.

"That's better. Now… I believe you still haven't answered my daughter's question… and really, I'd like to know the answer myself. You've been having me gather information on these people for four and a half months already. Just what _is_ your plan?"

"Heheheheheh, all in good time Kazumi-chan, all in good time."

A glare of irritation was received for the dismissive reply, though it was left unseen by the retreating form of the mangaka as she walked out of the room. "You three better go prepare. Your pick up should be here soon."

"And where are _you_ going… aunty?"

Haruna stopped in her tracks, right in front of the door, her hand, barely touching the handle as she looked over her shoulders towards the youngest within the house. "something happened earlier that might just end up causing trouble. Normally, I'd encourage it. But considering that it would probably end up with very unproductive results, it would probably be better if I took care of the matter right now."

The remaining three people just looked at the green haired woman as she walked out of the front door, summoning a winged, dolphin like golem once there was enough room before flying off into the sky; applying a cloaking spell on herself and her creation so as not to be seen.

-X-

Back in Nerima…

Akane was angry… very, very angry. This in itself wasn't exactly news, she was always angry at least two thirds of the time when she was awake and sometimes even when asleep. This time though, she was also joined by all three of her usual rivals in her emotional state, albeit less intense. But again, this wasn't so unusual. They fought a lot with each other, after all, so tempers were bound to fly when all four were involved.

What made this special was _who_ their anger was directed towards. All four girls looked on in rage through the wooden gates at the sight of Ranma worrying after a short, magenta haired girl who held an astonished look upon her features; responding to him only with the movement of her head.

Nodoka barely resisted the urge to palm her face in annoyance. Everything was going so well… at least when it came to following Haruna's plan; she couldn't really be sure if said plan would leave good results. It was get in, pull her 'Akane's final chance' act, get everything that Ranma would need, and then get out.

The fiancé brigade (minus Akane) coming near the gate of the house to say goodbye to Ranma wasn't much of a problem, nor were the appearances of Mousse and Ryoga telling Ranma to 'take his time coming back'. The easily recognizable sound of Kuno suddenly latching on to another girl while giving one of his infamous speeches on the other hand, was something to worry about.

This was more so for Nodoka and Ranma who actually recognized the voice. That in itself was bound to cause trouble with the attention it would garner. It did come as a surprise to everybody though when Kuno suddenly burst through the wooden gates, completely knocking them off of their hinges, revealing a magenta haired girl who had her palms outstretched, as if pushing someone away.

The loud sound of the crash only served to alert the occupants still within the house about the commotion of a possible fight, prompting the two martial artists of the Tendo family to check on the problem.

And as if things weren't bad enough, the moment that his sister came into view, Ranma, upon pure, protective instinct –and having occasionally been on the receiving ends of Kuno's acts towards females– ran as quick as he could towards the shocked girl, making sure that she was, in fact, okay. Yue too, had already gotten out of the car, evidently worried.

This was the scene that brought a number of glares their way. The fact that Ranma shouting out her name the moment that he moved towards her didn't really help.

The hateful eyes of the four girls were soon joined by another hate-filled stare from Ryoga. His eyes focusing completely on his rival with only one thought in mind.

"_How dare you cheat on Akane! Ungrateful, two-timing, cross-dressing lout."_

Soun too, stared at the scene with a frown. He was the first to speak out loud. "Ranma!" his menacing voice called, "what do you think you're doing with that girl? Is that _another_ one of your fiancés?"

Predictably, the thought of a new competitor for the position of the cursed boy's bride caused a big reaction among the four girls. Also very predictable was that Akane would jump onto an even bigger conclusion and accuse Ranma as such.

"Feh… figures. Reunion trip my ass! You just forced your mother to say that so you could go off with _another_ slut!"

Shampoo's attention quickly shifted from the whole scene outside the gates, now focusing solely on the shorter teen. "Look like there one more obstacle Shampoo need to kill."

"Grr… so… another peasant dares to get in the way of the love between Ranma-sama and I." (guess who. You have infinite tries but only the first one counts)

"Ran-chan… what's going on here?" Ukyo grinded out in a semi-calm voice, obviously trying to hide her irritation.

"_Shit! This is bad," _Ranma thought as he finally took stock of the situation. _"I can't tell them that she's my sister, that'd end up ruining everything that mom said… and Akane would probably end up jumping to an even worse conclusion. What should I…"_

His thoughts soon trailed off as he saw massive blob appear on top of the house, turning into some sort of thick liquid as it poured its way down to the ground without making a sound; the position of the ensuing that it's shadow wouldn't alert the other fighters of its presence. Before anyone could take notice of where (or what) Ranma was staring at, the giant mass of pink… whatever it was made of, had opened its mouth, causing a powerful vacuum to appear, attempting to suck in the group of martial artists.

Nodoka, having seen and recognized the huge creature, quickly jumped out of the vacuum's range; the augmentation on her legs allowing her to reach the other three near the car. The others though, weren't so lucky. Having no time to prepare, all the people that were left on the Tendo's front yard, including the out cold Kuno, were sucked into the gargantuan blob.

Its body quickly twisted into a long helix, easily reaching higher than the top of the Tendo home before it contracted three times as fast, creating a whiplash effect. What it did after that made all that saw it cringe in disgust. The giant mass bended its head back… which was more or less its entire gargantuan body, and spat out all those that it swallowed onto the ground with extreme force, even managing to create a crater on the path.

Every single one of its victims were left either dazed or unconscious as they lied on the ground. Their entire frames covered from head to toe in pink, slime like saliva.

After that, the great gelatinous mass disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving nothing behind.

Nodoka turned her gaze to the roof. "I know that you're really good at planning ahead and all Haruna, but somehow, I doubt that you actually took the events concerning the Kuno boy into your original ploy," she spoke out.

Sure enough, her former classmate appeared floating near the roof atop a flying golem in full pactio regalia. It didn't take a genius to guess where the humongous blob had come from at that point.

The mangaka looked down with a smirk. "You'd be right on that one. Don't ask me how I anticipated it though. You'll find out soon anyway." The blue machine quickly descended towards the fallen fighters. "You might want to put these guys to sleep though. We don't want them chasing after us," she suggested.

Nodoka gave a curt nod in response, pulling out her Comptina Daemonia, she chanted her spell.

"Recluo, Animus. Anima, Ocula! Aer et Aqua, Facti Nebula Illis Somnum Brevem! Nebula Hypnotica!"

Just like the night before, Nodoka conjured up a fog. This one though, was comparatively much denser, indicating a much stronger potency. When the thick mist cleared, all that was left were eight sleeping/unconscious martial artists and a huge golem in the shape of a giant shield that soon vanished in a plume of smoke.

Haruna calmly strode towards her former classmates. "Well now, I must say, I didn't expect little Yume-chi to have the same power as her grandmother. I always thought that royal magic would never reappear in the same form," she stated offhandedly.

A puzzled face greeted her as she approached the younger Ayase. "Royal… magic?"

"We'll tell you about it once you meet all the others. It would be easier for all of us that way," Nodoka said, ushering the two into the car. "For now, let's just go."

Unfortunately for them, none of them were able to notice the extra passenger that had snuck onto the top of the limo.

-X-

Alright I finally got this chapter finished. Can't believe it took this long though, I was actually hoping to get this up a week ago. But whatever, I won't bother you with anymore details. So to end the chapter, here are some explanations.

(1) Literally translated to 'wooden sword', a boken is usually used by kendo practitioners. They're different from bamboo swords though, so don't get the two confused.

(2) A 'kendoka' is practitioner of kendo. Likewise, a karateka is a practitioner of karate etc.

(3) A fan of my favourite game series should be able to know where this came from. Crusite alloy is a metal found in Ivalice. If you don't know which game that place is from… well… you are no gamer.

(4) A phrase I got from one of my personal favourite stories: Ackdam's 'Naruto One Man Team'. 'Pins and bracelets' is a term that mean 'torture and shackles'.

(5) You have absolutely no true idea of the Ranma 1/2 world if you don't know what this translates to. 'Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu' translates to 'school of indiscriminate grappling' which is the original Japanese name of Ranma's fighting style. The last names 'Saotome' and 'Tendo' are added in the beginning to denote which branch of the style is being mentioned.

(6) Itabashi is a ward in Tokyo right next to Nerima. I find it funny how often Ranma gets sent flying to Minato ward (the place where the sailor moon series takes place in) when it's all the way on the opposite side of Tokyo. Though then again, I probably shouldn't dwell on that. The 'ku' at the end, means 'ward'. This is where Kazumi's house is.

And that's it for this chapter. Have a nice day/night/whatever and make sure to review. A good enough suggestion might just make my story writing faster.

Oh, and before I forget: can anyone guess which gaming icon got a supped up cameo in this chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

To all those that enjoy this fic, sorry for the late update. I've learned just a month ago that one should never leave a laptop and a glass of Pepsi in the same room as a very active six year old sister.

I know that that isn't much of an excuse, but that's more or less the main reason for the lack of updates. Add in the fact that Negima manga chapters are coming in slower than usual in the past few months, which really takes a lot out of my inspiration and planning, pretty much resulted into this late (not to mention, unfortunately, short) update.

So without further ado: let's begin… Oh, and I don't own either Ranma, Negima, or whatever else might just happen to pop up in this story that already belongs to a different series.

**Important notes**: as many people have voiced complaints, I've fixed as many major mistakes in the last chapter as I could find and also re-edited the ending. As such, the royal magic explanation will not be in this chapter.

**Chapter VII: Reunions Pt1**

"Nodoka-chan! Yue-chan! Haruna-chan! Long time no see!" a voice greeted from behind the group of five as they walked on the tarmac, causing them to stop and turn around to see who had called out to them.

Ranma couldn't help but let his eyes twitch as soon as his eyes caught sight of the one that greeted them, or rather, the twirling gymnastics ribbon in her companion's hand that, to the amazement of an ordinary man, had a rubber ball seemingly floating in the middle of the spinning satin strip. _"A rhythmic gymnast? Seriously? This one had better as Kodachi or Asuka(1)."_

Like all the previous new people that Ranma had recently met, the both were also of the female persuasion. Another mother-daughter pair, if their similar appearances were any indication.

The person that had so enthusiastically greeted them looked to be the same age as the three she herself had named, which didn't surprise the pigtailed boy in the least. Her hair, Ranma noted, which was style into a pair of short, jaw-length pigtails on either side of her head, was coloured a shocking pink, reminding him of the very bright and diverse hair colourations of the women of the Joketsuzoku tribe. Her eyes were a vibrant green that shined with joyful glee. She stood at average height and wore a tracksuit with a white trims and white stripes running down the sides of the arms and legs; the main colour being the same as her hair.

"Ah, Makie-chan. Seems you got here early as well." Haruna greeted back with a smile before noticing the girl that walked a little behind her. "And you must be Mika-chan, correct?" She asked the ribbon wielding girl.

Mika, much like her mother, had a very lithe and slender body that was only a little taller than Yume. Her hair was of a much darker shade of pink than Makie's, almost reaching a light red and was tied into a single back ponytail, yet still allowing numerous bangs to frame her face. Her eyes, though the same colour and shade as those of her mother's, also held a deep focus that the older woman lacked. She too was wearing a tracksuit, but with the colours reversed.

In her hand was a crimson gymnastics ribbon that she continuously wove into a diagonal helix that trapped the rubber ball inside, 'floating' in the middle as if it were in a jar. However: if one were to look close enough, they would've noticed how the ball would continuously bounce on the on the ever spinning cloth that encased it in. There wasn't any form of energy being fuelled into the ribbon from what Ranma could sense. The act was nothing but pure speed, skill and grace.

The slender girl took a small moment to regard the woman that questioned her while somehow continuing to manage her seemingly impossible endeavour, a little smile gracing her features as she nodded in confirmation.

She turned her attention to the ribbon that she kept spinning for about a second or two, giving it one final flick that made it spin faster, just as the ball had hit the silky surface. The rubber orb bounced a little higher than it had previously, breaking out of the spiralling prison upwards, before being caught in the girl's opposite hand.

And just like that, the glint of seriousness in her eyes disappeared, now replaced with a carefree shine. She turned back towards the spectacled woman in front of her before taking notice of the ones that stood behind the tall female, looking at her mother and her; two of them joyful, the other two, curious.

"It's good to meet you," she said in a polite, but energetic tone, bowing slightly as she did so. "My name is Sasaki Mikazuki. Though I would prefer it if you just called me Mika" She rose from her bow near the end, a bigger smile on her face than before, "I assume that you three were my mother's former classmates?" she asked to the three women.

They responded with a simple nod in unison. _"I guess she takes more after Negi-kun/sensei when it comes to manners. Makie-chan would have been a lot more casual than that."_ Thought all three.

Ranma on the other hand was inwardly sighing in relief. _"Well… so far so good."_

"Mika-chan, these three are Saotome Haruna, Ayase Yue and Miyazaki Nodoka," she introduced her past classmates, pointing to them as she did so before focusing on the two teens that stood behind them. A curious gaze. "Nodoka-chan, Yue-chan, are these two…" she left the question hanging as the women in question nodded once more. Immediately, the curiosity faded and was replaced by a wide grin

"Mika-chan~" she practically squealed out in a singsong voice, instantly getting the young gymnast's attention. "Remember when I said that you have a brother and eight sisters?" she asked, her smile intensifying at the realization that quickly dawned on the gymnast, the other two teens not far behind.

"Well… these are two of your siblings right now," she continued, not even letting the Mika answer her previous question. "Mika-chan, I'd like you to meet your older brother, Miyazaki Ranma, and younger sister, Ayase Yume," Makie announced cheerfully.

Silence fell upon all of them as the siblings looked at each other, wrapping their minds around the gymnast's words as they examined the other party's appearance(s). It was Mika that broke this silence, walking towards her newly revealed brother and sister.

"So you guys are two of the siblings that mother told me about huh?" she asked, though whether it was rhetorical or not, neither one of the two answered. Despite that though, the pinkette still couldn't help but smile, "I'm Sasaki Mikazuki," she reintroduced herself, giving a short bow in front of Ranma and Yume, finally breaking them out of their reverie.

"Ayase Yume," the shorter girl returned, giving a bow of her own.

"Sao… uh… Miyazaki Ranma," Ranma followed with a shallow bow, trying to hide his stumble behind a sheepish smile, his hand scratching the back of his head.

A questioning brow raised on the gymnast's face at the pigtailed boy's odd introduction, but simply shrugged it off the next moment, thinking it nothing more than simple nervousness.

The three queens of Ostia, plus one mangaka, stayed where they were and could only look happily upon the sight of the three reunited siblings. "They're already treating each other like siblings, despite the fact that they've never known about each other till today," the smallest booklover commented.

A quiet laughter escaped from the pinkette, her usual cheerful grin being replaced by a smaller, but genuine smile, her eyes conveying a caring expression that only a mother could give. "Don't underestimate just how strong family bonds can be. Sometimes, all it takes is having one thing in common for broken ties to be realigned." (what? You didn't expect her to stay a _complete_ airhead for all of _seventeen years_ did you?)

They stared as the trio of siblings walked ahead of them; the two girls conversing about something too far off to hear while Ranma followed at the rear. It wasn't like they actually needed a guide to their plane. Not unless they could actually miss the huge white feather symbol on one of the appointed jet… or the neon sign that stood on the tarmac right in front of the stairwell that read 'Ala Alba private jet'… or the dozen or so identical guards that wore neon green vests that had 'Welcome all Ala Alba members' both on the front and back.

All in all, if there was actually anyone who wished to either attack or sneak on board a plane that would, at a recent point in time, be filled with roughly three dozen very strong, very deadly and, likely, very angry women, then this was a pretty good chance. Of course, given the fact that most people wouldn't have had such knowledge, the large group of huge and (to most normal people) imposing guards were certainly just as good of a warning to all but the stupidest idiots.

-X-

Meanwhile, in the (huge) luggage area…

A loud sneeze echoed throughout the room, causing another guard on inventory check to scan the area. Finding nothing else alive, save for the pet lion that was peacefully sleeping in its specially reserved corner (which beat most first class flight standards in terms of comfort, despite being caged off), he went back to his appointed task.

-X-

Back outside…

Sweatdrops were coming down all around as many a dumbfounded viewers looked on at the sight. Even the four Mahora alumni couldn't help but stare at the overzealous welcome as they finally took notice of it. They berated themselves immediately afterwards for missing it in the first place

"Eh… Heheheh… I… guess some things will just never change huh?" Haruna asked to her companions, with one eye twitching as she tried to keep a false smile. _"Damn… even I think that that's going overboard."_

The other's though, held no such obligations and simply let out an irritated huff, or in the case of the usually composed Yue, a half-heartedly baleful stare.

"And here I was thinking that she actually mellowed down after all these years," Yue commented in a whisper, though it was still caught by the others.

"Well… this _is_ the first time we'll all be seeing Ne-kun again after seventeen years. I guess she's excited. Not that I really blame her for it," Nodoka reasoned, albeit rather weakly.

Makie, on the other hand, simply chose to look on the brighter side of things which, in her current company, was something only she could truly enjoy. "Oh well… at least it isn't the Negi-jet. I mean, I loved the design, sure, but flying in that was just embarrassing."

"Umm… right. Let's just go," directed the mangaka, as she once more started to walk, the others trailing behind her as they followed the three siblings who were already ascending the stairs.

-X-

With the royal siblings…

It didn't take long for the three to notice the rather… dumbfounding sight either. The effect of such a sight though, was a bit unexpected, and a lot more short lived in the gawk department .

"…Damn. I don't think even the Kunos could pay for all this."

"Who're the Kunos?" Yume asked absentmindedly, still too distracted by the –for a lack of better word– stunning spectacle, to fully register the martial artist's quip.

"A crazy, rich girl and her older brother," Mika answered, just as inattentively, with Ranma nodding in confirmation.

It wasn't until a few more seconds had passed before everything that was said had finally registered into the minds of all three.

"You know those whackos?" the pigtailed youth questioned, beating the pinkette from asking the same.

"Umm… Yes I know them," Mika decided to answer, a mutual curiosity between the two about the other's knowledge of the delusional duo.

"I always end up meeting both of them in a lot of big time gymnastics competitions" she started, then her voice took on an angrier tone as she continued to elaborate, "I first met them during my first time in the national competitions four years ago. She tried to injure every other participant just so she could win by default. And if that wasn't bad enough, her brother keeps on groping me and trying to kiss me every chance he gets," the irritation that the pinkette had had was now just barely being kept in check as she sneered at the various memories she had of the boken wielding loony and his just as deluded sister.

A laugh was Ranma's first reply as he heard his new (acquaintance-wise) sister complain. Save for a few mundane facts (hobbies, interests, he need not ask about family) about Yume, he didn't know the dark pinkette any better than he did his other sister. But if how she had acted so far was any indication, then two things were very clear: Mika, for all her childish tendencies was not one to allow anger to get to her; being able to tolerate three Ranma style: foot-in-mouth attacks (all accidental, as usual) in the few short minutes since they met was a testament to that. A person like that badmouthing someone else, while not as out of place as if Kasumi had done it, was definitely a testament to just how horrible the Kuno siblings could be… not that he was surprised.

"Heh… trust me on this, if that's all you get, you're pretty lucky. I've had to deal with those two for nearly a full year now! If you think that's bad, you haven't seen anything yet."

"Oh? And what, pray-tell, could have been worse from what's happened to me, onii-san?" Mika challenged with a humorous smirk directed towards the pigtailed boy.

Ranma snorted, "It could be _Kodachi_ that's in-love with you," he deadpanned. Although, in truth, he didn't really know which of the two was worse, but saying that Kuno chases after him as well would probably be very awkward.

The pinkette blinked for a moment, then blinked again before suddenly shuddering. While it had never succeeded on her, she'd still seen many of those on the receiving end of some of the black hoe's… err… I mean, black rose's chemical warfare tactics. The thought of what someone of her mentality would do to someone that they loved (*cough*obsessed*chough*) while the person was paralyzed was a scary thought that sent shivers up her spine. She wasn't certain about how guys, the perverted kind in particular, would feel about such a situation, but it was definitely enough to drain the colour from her face. She decided there and then that being the target of the elder Kuno's perversions, while still _very_ unwelcomed, was better than being the target of a psychotic woman with intentions of rape in mind.

-X-

Meanwhile, in another car en route to the airport…

A familiar white haired swordswoman sneezed. _"I hope I'm not catching a cold."_

-X-

Back at the airport tarmac…

"Umm… not that I actually mind whatever it is you two are talking about but… shouldn't we be boarding the plane now?" Yume interrupted, a dull expression present on her face.

"Huh?" was the intelligent answer from both of the older teens.

"Oh! Right, all the others are probably waiting inside! Come on, let's go!" she ordered, climbing the tall ramp with a skip in her step. Her actions not showing a single hint of anxiety that even the usually confident Ranma could have.

The remaining two siblings sweatdropped. "She's… really… carefree, isn't she?" the pigtailed boy asked, not knowing what else to describe the bubbly girl's behaviour.

"More so than her mother I think," Yume commented, starting her climb as well when her older sister looked over her shoulder towards them mid-way up the mobile staircase, waiting for them to ascend. "She's definitely not as casual to new people though."

"Heh… I'm just glad she's not another gymnastics whacko." His piece said, the cursed prince followed his two sisters up the steps.

-X-

To say that the Yukihiro family is rich was like saying that Rakan, Jiraiya, elder Kai and Happosai combined would only cause mild chaos. It was an understatement that anyone who knew of them would never make… not that anyone in this world knew of two other people as perverted as Rakan or Happosai. Hell, most people only knew about Happosai. But I'm getting off topic here. The point is, the Yukihiro family was absurdly rich, and with their conglomerate company, could make even more money than Akamatsu himself.

All those facts in mind, most would expect the interior of a private jet that belonged to the consortium's owner and chairwoman was bound to be lavish. Those people would not be disappointed. Despite being a private jet, the aerial vehicle was actually even bigger than a Boeing 747. No small expense was spent on the interior designing either. The floor was covered by fine tiger stripe carpet of deep red and ebony black. The walls were covered in wallpaper of a similar pattern. What would have normally been the economy cabin on a commercial flight now resembled a top class restaurant, complete with champagne bottles, wine glasses, a performance stage and of course, a hostess.

"My my, aren't you excited." Mika stopped just as she entered the giant vehicle and was greeted by blonde haired woman, causing a light flush of embarrassment to cross her face. The woman simply gave a quiet laugh at her reaction. "Let me guess. Pink hair, green eyes, very enthusiastic…" she paused, looking at the ribbon that the pinkette held in her right hand, "and obviously a gymnast. You must be Makie-chan's daughter," the blonde deduced, just in time for the other two teens to catch up. Their mothers, plus one, could be seen at the foot of the ramp.

A flash of recognition crossed Yume's eyes as she caught sight of the blonde hostess. "Oh… you're… Yukihiro Ayaka-san right?" she inquired, looking at the smiling businesswoman.

It wasn't really all that hard to guess at the woman's identity. She was a little taller, at least reaching the same height as Nagase Kaede was during their high school days. Her hair, which had once reached down to the back of her knees was reduced to waist level. Her figure could make any supermodel turn as green as her emerald eyes with envy. The way she stood, as well as the aura about her shone with aristocratic elegance, confidence, and an authority that few could defy, and yet her face portrayed a caring gentleness that could bring many at ease.

A smile crossed the chairwoman's face as she heard the younger woman's deduction, her eyes closing in delight. "Fufufu… quite a clever little miss aren't you. I take it that you've read some of Haruna's works?" she asked, already knowing the answer. After all, if this girl was who she thought it was, then she probably knew about every person on the flight above her own age.

"She used to babysit me whenever mom was busy. Since she's a library manager, she often had a lot to do and the best way for aunt Haruna to keep me occupied while she worked was to let me read her manga. I've read everything about you and the rest of my mom's classmates while our dad was teaching you," Yume explained, a small smile tugging at her lips. "My name is Ayase Yume, by the way." She bowed.

A small laugh once more made its way from the blonde aristocrat. "I thought as much," she commented amusedly before introducing properly introducing herself. "Yukihiro Ayaka. And you two are?"

"Sasaki Mikazuki."

"Miyazaki Ranma."

Ayaka's eyes widened for a small moment at the young man's introduction, but was quickly replaced by a joyous glint that had come along with a smile on her face. "Really now? You're Nodoka's son? " she asked, as if in disbelief, leaning in closer to the pigtailed martial artist, her face right in front of his.

As one would expect from one of his situation, his cheeks turned a deep red as he looked at the, admittedly, very attractive woman's face. The instincts ingrained within him from the past year and a half with the Tendos kicking in once more as he nervously backed away from her approach.

"Now now Iincho, I know that you have a thing for young men, but this is _my_ _son_ you're coming on to.  
Not to mention the fact that your already married."

A tick mark popped up on Ayaka's head at the joking voice, she grit her teeth slightly in annoyance and her face contorted into a frown, but otherwise still kept a reserved demeanour. She moved her head so as to look above Ranma's own, spying four of her former classmates, each showing their own version of an amused smile. For a while, she did nothing but frown dully at the four women, mostly focusing on Nodoka.

"Very funny," she remarked dryly, "you aren't exactly the best person to talk about being faithful you know. You did, after all, get married to another," she added, their eyes locked together in a what would have been stare off, were it not for the lack of hostility.

"That may be," the amethyst haired woman replied, chuckling at the beginning, obviously not taking the comment as an insult, "however, in case you've forgotten, that was something that wasn't completely of my own volition. What's more, by the end of this trip, that 'marriage', if could call it one, shall be null and void. You ensured it yourself, after all."

The blank frown on Ayaka's face lasted for all of half a minute before she turned around to face what looked to be the entrance to an elevator, a smile replacing her previous expression. "I have my lawyer working on the divorce case as we speak. All that's needed is for you to sign a few papers. We already have enough proof to put up a solid case, not only to get a quick divorce, but also to land him in jail for the next fifty years."

With that, she pressed the button beside the double sliding doors, opening them up to reveal a circular elevator. "Now, do you all intend to stay there the entire flight, or should I show you your rooms for the night? There are some people that are still waiting to meet you all, and personally, I don't really want to keep it that way," she said, stepping into the cylindrical lift.

Smiling, the three mother's ushered their respective progeny, all three of which having long since stayed silent, inside. Haruna being the only one to stay behind prompting a few curious eyes to turn towards her. "You guys go, I'm gonna go see whoever else is here already," she explained, answering the unspoken question, "I'm waiting for Kazumi anyway," she added, turning to a door to the right of the entrance. "All the others are through here right?" she asked.

"Most of them, yes. Some of those that arrived earlier, preferred to take a quick rest before we depart. Kazumi-san and Sayo-san though, are both inside the bar, Kanako-chan as well. There won't be anything to eat or drink until after takeoff though."

"Great! I'll see you guys when your one then." That was the last they had heard of her before the doors of the elevator closed.

-X-

It didn't take more than a few seconds before the elevator came to a stop. With a barely audible 'swoosh' the metallic doors slid apart to reveal the long hallway that was the upper deck of the aircraft. About a dozen doors lined the hallway, very similar to what one would in a hotel, with each one leading to their own room.

Mika was practically swooning at the it all. "Wow! An elevator, a bar _and_ personal rooms. Now _this_ is what I call first class."

"Heh… no kidding," came Ranma's offhanded reply. "I've never been on a plane before now, but I'm pretty sure that none of 'em are anything like this."

"Definitely one of a kind," Yume added, only half as amazed, having expected something similar already.

"Fufufu… two of a kind, actually," the blonde aristocrat corrected. "This plane was built custom made with the help of Boeing company. The other plane just like this one is still in development, but it's planned to be used as a rentable plane for high-class functions. Even though there's still about a whole year before construction is complete, there are already quite a few that have already booked it for use once it's finished."

"It has a total of three decks. A bar and kitchen in the bottom deck, a total of twenty two rooms on the second deck and another fourteen in the top deck, in addition to a private meeting room. A total of four restrooms in each level with showers on the second and third. What's more, as this particular plane is solely meant for use by the Ala Alba, the water that's used for the facilities are acquired and gotten rid of via teleportation magic that is connected to one of the Yukihiro consortium's water purification plants. Extra fuel is also received through the same process."

Silence followed Ayaka's lecture as she looked towards the six people with her. Each one sporting amazed expressions of dif. Finally, Ranma let out a low whistle. "That's… pretty impressive," he stated truthfully.

"Fufufu… thank you," the blonde thanked, smiling all the while. "Now, I believe that I mentioned something about there being some people waiting for you all," she said, leading them all to the end of the of the third deck hallway.

Wooden double doors decorated the end of the passageway, a golden plaque resting atop them had the words 'meeting room' inscribed upon it.

Time seemed to slow down for Ranma as Ayaka hand reached out for the handle, giving a very audible gulp as she grasped it. Mika was just barely keeping her composure as she waited to finally to see all the other occupants in the room beyond. Yume. On the other hand just stared with an emotionless gaze, masking her own anxiety concerning the situation. Each one of them already having figured out just who the people in the other room were.

Finally, for what seemed like hours to all three (for different reasons), the door was finally opened, drawing the attention of everybody already in the room.

There were five people already inside, all of them, as the three siblings had expected, were female; two adults and three the same age as them. Each one staring at them with mixtures of curiosity and/or anticipation.

-X-

(1) The Asuka mentioned in this chapter is Asuka the white lily, Kodachi's childhood rival and fellow psychopath. Both are exceptionally skilled in rhythmic gymnastics. This, along with the fact that the only other people besides Ranma himself who were good at rhythmic gymnastics (a bunch of guys who I can't remember the name of) were also coo coo crazy led to a belief in many of Nerima: skilled rhythmic gymnast = asylum escapee.

And there you have it, the seventh chapter of 'The wild horse mage knight'. Again, sorry for the long wait, but I've been running into some bad luck lately; both with my computer and my imagination. If this chapter wasn't very satisfying, then I apologize.

And to show my apology, I've decided to try my hand in making you laugh with my first Omake. It's right after the character profiles.

-X-

Character profile: Ayase Yume (updated)

Age- 16  
Hair colour- Magenta, but closer to blue  
Eye colour- Brown  
Height-5'5 (made a mistake here last time)

Family:

Parents- Ayase Yume (mother) and Negi Springfield (father)

Siblings- Miyazaki Ranma, Sasaki Mikazuki, seven unnamed sisters.

Likes- Eschatology (study of things regarding the end of the world [got this wrong last time]), philosophy, mysticism, anything generally magic related or close to it.

Dislikes- Books, being kept from finding out something she is interested in or curious about.

Additional facts-

Despite all of her mother's attempts at making her enjoy books just as much as she has, Yume simply doesn't take an interest in them.

She gets her usually neutral personality from her mother, however, she is more easily riled up when compared to Yue. (though still remains calmer than most others)

Her first name means dream (implying fantasy), which conflicts with the meaning of Yue's name, which means reason (implying reality). This conflict is personified in their opinion on books.

Teaser facts (this is to give you something to expect, though some may already be obvious)-

Initially, Yume was created to be the closest to Ranma when among his siblings. While all of Ranma's other siblings will have a lot more spotlight than all the other second generation Ala Alba, (save for a few) Yume and Ranma will gain the most spotlight among all the royal siblings.

She is also meant to be the love interest of Ranma's newest rival. (next chapter, guaranteed)

-X-

Character profile: Sasaki Mikazuki (prefers Mika)

Hair colour- Dark pink  
Eye colour- Green  
Height- 5'6

Family:

Parents- Sasaki Makie (mother), Negi Springfield (father)

Siblings- Miyazaki Ranma, Ayase Yume, seven still unnamed sisters.

Likes- Rhythmic Gymnastics, cute things, sweets, tulips.

Dislikes- Black roses (stems from Kodachi [pun?]), cheaters, people calling her Mikazuki, the Kunos.

Additional facts-

Her given name, Mikazuki, literally translates to 'crescent moon'. This is a reference to Makie's pactio card which is one of the only two to have the 'Luna' australitas (bottom left corner).

While Mika has retained most of Makie's personalities, she is more like her father in terms of intelligence and manners towards those she is unfamiliar with.

In case you're wondering, she's beaten Kodachi every time they've met. If you want to know how, just look at how Makie uses her rhythmic gymnastics tools and figure out how I'm going to connect all three characters together.

Teaser facts-

As if it weren't obvious enough, Makie is meant to be a rival of sorts to Kodachi.

-X-

Omake- The world's most fearsome technique

Four people stood in a line, standing side by side. Each one of them facing towards the setting sun.

"So, the time has finally come… it is finally time to show the world just how strong our combined powers can be," the shortest of them, a creature reminiscent of an imp said.

"Indeed it is, Happosai-san, indeed it is," the second tallest one, with a huge scroll on his back replied.

"Well then, in that case, I believe I have some earrings I need to give out. Remember, these effects will be permanent. Are you three ready, Happosai-san? Jiraiya-san? Rakan-san?" asked the second shortest, a frail looking purple skinned man.

"HAI ELDER KAI! " the other three, now identified as Happosai, Jiraiya and Rakan shouted.

"Then let us begin!" elder Kai announce, throwing four earrings out to the rest, one to Happosai, one to Jiraiya and two to Rakan. "Now!" he ordered.

Quickly, each of the three placed an earring on one ear, causing a bright flash of power and light. Once it died down, where once stood four figures, now stood only two.

The first had the appearance of a giant purple kappa (Japanese water monster) and was garbed in a combination of elder Kai's and Happosai's clothing. "I am elder Kaipposai!" he shouted in what sounded like two different voices, striking a pose.

The other one was a great giant of a man, bigger than Rakan himself. His skin was heavily tanned and had long and spiky. He wore the same attire as Rakan had, with the only addition being Jiraiya's scroll on his back. "And I am the high super pervert, Jirakan!" the giant announced, striking a pose as well

"Now! Second fusion!" Kaipposai instructed.

"HAI!" Jirakan responded with his own distorted voice, putting on another earring just as Kaipposai did the same.

Another flash of light later, only one figure remained. This one though, was ginormous. Like Kaipposai, it also had purple skin. The only hair on its head was a long, spiky, platinum blonde Mohawk that reached all the way from his fifteen foot tall body, right onto the ground. He had a giant scroll on his back and wore a red vest over the tunic of the elder Kai and the same kind of pants as Happosai.

"The world trembles upon my very existence!" he started in a voice that was as though four people spoke simultaneously. "I am the lord of all things echi! The ultimate thief of women's undergarments! He who can look upon all women in the all the hot springs of the world! I am the one! The only!... Pervert overlord Ero-Ero-jin!" recited the behemoth, doing a strange dance all the while.

"Now! The multiverse shall feel my power!" Ero-Ero-jin announced, raising his hands to the sky. Soon enough, soon enough, giant rays of light converged upon the sky above where his hands pointed. A giant ball of energy started to build up until it was the size of an entire planet.

"Perverted thoughts of all the world that rests with in my hands! Show this world my POWER!" with that, he threw the giant orb forward, impacting it upon the Earth. "Senpo! Cho-Ero-Genki Dama-Daikarin!"

As the blast engulfed the whole planet, the history of the multiverse changed. It was the day when all women of the multiverse lost all their clothing, and the day that all men in the multiverse, save for Ero-Ero-jin had died of nose bleeds. Ero-Ero-jin would also die that day when he was attacked by all the women of the multiverse.

And they all live happily ever after.

-X-

And that's it for today. What did you all think of my first Omake? Good? Bad? Stupid? I'd really like to know. Till next time. RnR.


	8. Chapter 8

Alright, time for another chapter of 'The wild horse mage knight' to step up onto the stage. But first, let me just say that this chapter in particular is something that I've been looking forward to finishing for a while, so it might've been a little rushed, hopefully not by too much.

Now, with that in mind, let's all not forget the fact that I own nothing here except for the plot and my various (currently numbering on thirteen) OCs.

**Chapter VIII: Reunions Pt2**

Yume's eyes darted from one teen to the other. Inwardly, she was congratulating herself. From what it seemed so far, every one of her siblings were the daughters of the very same people that she suspected they'd be. _"Seven down, three more to go." _That was a big accomplishment in her mind.

The first one, a blonde , seemed to be studying each one of them carefully, a light frown of concentration on her face. _"Aunt Ayaka's, definitely."_. She had a bit of a tomboyish appearance: short hair, baggy red shirt under a denim jacket, maroon track pants and red sneakers; she also had glasses on too. None of them seemed to be of too high above average quality either. In fact, had it not been for the emerald that acted as the sole button for her jacket, nobody would probably have ever thought her to have been rich.

Next to her was a girl with light orange, neck-length hair and held some sort of folded up device in her hand. It looked like she was talking to the blonde before they arrived. She wore a burnt-orange spaghetti strap that hugged her body quite well, along with brown shorts that reached mid-thigh, a pair of knee high boots covered her feet. _"Pale orange hair and a palmtop computer. Well that makes it obvious, though she's definitely not as afraid of attention as her mother was. Clothes like those practically scream 'look at me', even if she doesn't intend to get it."_ (If you still can't guess who's the mother of this one, you'll find out later)

And then finally, there was the third girl further down the table. Her long purple hair was tied in a single ponytail and managed to reach all the way down her mid-thigh. In comparison, her clothes were much simpler and more modest than the last two girls: a plain yellow tank top under a casual white blouse and white slacks. She didn't have any defining features to track the identity of her mother with, but the blue haired woman sitting beside her was undoubtedly Izumi Ako. It was pretty easy to guess from there. What was really eye catching about her at the moment was that she was currently giving an impression of a goldfish, directed somewhere to her side.

Curious, she turned to look at where the violet haired girl was so surprised about, only to find Mika returning the other girl's gobsmacked expression. Slowly, the pinkette's hand rose, pointing towards the other girl, her mouth still agape. _"I guess they met before."_

"Ch… Chiaki… san?/Mika…san?... WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" they shouted, both of them now pointing to each other.

Everybody was staring at them now, not that either of them noticed, they were too busy being shocked. Close to them, Yume took notice of the sheepish grins on both their mothers' faces as they attempted to inch away. Not that they could actually go very far.

Faster than the eye could see, Mika was upon her mother, as was the now named Chiaki, both of them trying to get answers from their older counterpart. The word 'classmate' was enough of a hint for everybody else to figure out what was going on between the two. It seemed that the two of them had just as close a friendship between them as their mothers did. Their anger was reasonable, Yume supposed; the two had apparently been close for a while now, but only learned about their true relationship recently. _"I probably would've acted the same if I'd known Ranma or Mika from before."_

It took a while, but eventually Mika and Chiaki had let up on their respective interrogation. From the scowls they wore, it was easy to tell that they were still far from pleased, but the two of them were willing to wait for answers later. Most likely the very second they got out of the room.

When they were invited to sit Yume took the chair beside Ranma, both sitting at the left corner of the rectangular table nearest the door, Mika and Chiaki sat across from while the two remaining unknowns sat themselves at the foot of the table. Opposite those two stood Ayaka at the far end, the other parents on either side of her.

Ayaka addressed them as they all settled down. "Alright then, now, for those that have just gotten here I'm fairly certain you've all figured out what this meeting is for correct?" all three nodded. "Excellent. Well then, while I realize that none of us standing before you here actually have any right to say this, but I honestly do hope that all of you get along."

"We'll leave you all for now so that you can all get to know one another. You can leave whenever you choose, but I would advise that you at least stay here until after takeoff."

The older half of the room's occupants left after that, giving their respective child some words of encouragement before leaving. A very audible thud was heard as the door was shut behind them. Silence followed as all six siblings eyed each other, each one asking, hoping that someone else would start talking first, even as half of them tried to hide it. Then, after what felt like hours, Yume heard her only brother sigh.

"Well I guess we might as well get this over with, and since you're all going to find out eventually..." Ranma stopped, getting up from his seat, he walked over to a smaller table that stood behind where Mika had sat, carrying a tray with various glasses, pitchers and bottles of all sorts of drinks.

He slowly poured himself a glass of water before taking it and bringing so it was level with his face, holding it there tentatively, as if contemplating his actions. All the rest looked at him with confusion, all but Yume that is. She knew what he was going to do. It did surprise her though. From what she knew and what she'd seen, he was usually on guard whenever it came to this particular subject.

"_Either he's accepted his curse by a greater margin within the past few hours, or he actually feels safe showing these four about it. Perhaps a mixture of both. Hopefully, no one will overreact to this… oh wait, daughters of some of class 3A… forgot about that."_

After over a minute of doubt, Ranma seemed to have come to a conclusion. In a quick succession of movement, he raised the glass above his head and poured the contents all over him, much to the surprise of those that didn't expect such a thing. What surprised them further was the his transformation. Where there once was a well muscled, raven haired young man, there was now a well endowed, red headed teenage girl.

Setting the glass down, the aforementioned girl turned to look at the remaining occupants of the room. He was partially surprised to see that none of them were openly gaping at him like most had reacted upon first seeing his transformation –something he attributed to the fact that they had all recently learned that they were magic royalty– but they showed shock at what had transpired nonetheless. The only one that looked unaffected was Yume, but then, she already knew about the curse beforehand.

Regaining his composure, Ranma gave them the widest grin he could form, one hand scratching the back of his neck. "The name's Miyazaki Ranma, sorry about this." (Don't know if that's a cannon line, but it's been used a lot fanfics and I love it)

-X-

(Lowest deck: bar. Right as Haruna left)

There was one thing that has to be said about the Yukihiro zaibatsu: if they even so much as had a finger in making it (let alone a hand) then you should very damn well expect it to be made better than anything else. That was one Saotome Haruna's opinion as she stood in front of the bar area entrance, taking in the appearance of the long room.

The place was nothing short of first class, and that was only because there was no class better. The place made most five star restaurants look like greasy fast food joints. The floor was carpeted with a crimson carpet of an even deeper shade than the one used on the other parts of the plane. The walls were coloured a rich brown, giving the illusion of being made out of wood. The entire place was lit up by large circular chandelier that was, to Haruna's amusement, had the glass pieces arranged to resemble a pactio circle. The actual bar itself was located at the far end of the sixty meter or so room, a counter/table that attached to the walls end to end, much like one would find in a tavern. Behind it, the mangaka could see shelves on the walls; wine glasses, bottles of alcohol and a copious amount of other different beverages stacked onto them.

Taking her mind off of the scenery, the Haruna's eyes quickly scanned the vicinity for her camera wielding former classmate. Just as Ayaka had said, there were already quite a few there: She could see Yuna somewhere around the middle of the room, talking to Misa and Sakurako, with four others joining them. Among them was Kana who was conversing with a brunette, roughly thirteen or fourteen, both of whom were entertaining the other two; a strawberry blonde girl of around five years of age and a child no older than two. Haruna contemplated asking the redhead teenager for her mother's location, but ultimately decided against it.

Further back, she could see Chizuru and Natsumi sitting with two other teenagers, twins if their appearance was anything to go by; one boy, one girl, both with red hair and dog ears. It didn't take much to guess who their parents were.

A little closer to her position was Kaede, easily identifiable by her eternally closed eyes. Being a trained ninja, Haruna wasn't at all surprised when the olive haired kunoichi took notice of her immediately, giving her a silent hello with a wave of her hand, one that she wholeheartedly returned. This caught the attention of the girl sitting next to her who turned around to look towards the doorway.

She was Kaede's daughter, the mangaka supposed. There was enough similarity in appearance between them: very athletic build, dark green hair, she even had a similar hairstyle to the Kaede way back when, if a little bit spikier towards the sides. The ninja-esque outfit didn't do much to hide it either. About the only major difference appearance-wise between the two was that, unlike Kaede, the smaller kunoichi was relatively much shorter, not to mention… lacking in certain areas.

As the smaller ninja gave her own silent greeting, which was also returned, Haruna started scouring her mind for anything she learned about the girl the past few years. _"Let's see, if memory serves me right, her name is Azumaya Koyuki. Fourteen years old, chose to live on her own in Adachi-ku, Tokyo. Hmm… it seems Kaede decided to bring her along for the reunion. I wonder if she knows about magic already?"_

Deciding to simply let that question answer itself, she continued her search for her partner in crime. In the end, Haruna found the redheaded journalist sitting at the bar counter, talking with Sayo. "So, how was the trip here?" she asked as she took a seat beside the ghost girl.

The duo turned to her. "Oh, it wasn't bad. Especially considering we got to ride first class," Kazumi answered, giving Haruna the same wide smirk that the redhead had always favoured so much. "And you?"

"Rather entertaining, if I do say so myself. …So… do you still have little miss 'perfect' under surveillance?"

Kazumi nodded in affirmation. "Of course I do. And it seems to me that you haven't lost your edge when it comes to manipulating people. You really are a genius at that aren't you?"

The smirk that Kazumi wore at that line was matched only by Haruna's own. "So you've figured out my little punishment plan for that girl, have you?"

"Heh… well, if your plan was to have those three girls continuously sabotage little miss Tendo's 'attempts' to curb her anger, in secret, no less and in the most violent ways, then yes, I'd say it's working quite well," Kazumi answered, no small amount of amusement in her tone. "It's only been a few hours and already that girl's been attacked a total of seven times. Every single time no one's looking, something always happens to her."

Haruna's smirk turned absolutely feral at that, leaving a low, dark cackling in its wake. "Oh… believe me, Kazumi-chan, what you've seen so far is far from the end. If even one of those girls are really as desperate to get Ranma to love them as they seem… then before long, they'll end up trying to get each other spotted in the act."

Her cackling had grew louder after that, causing many to stare at their direction. Of course, given that more than half of them had known her previously, it did nothing more than make them curious of what it was the mangaka was planning. The recon duo, on the other hand were less impressed.

"That's it?" the redhead reporter deadpanned, "make them fight each other? They already do that on their own! What's the point?" she raved on while Sayo chose to simply stay confused and quiet beside her.

Both grew even more confused when Haruna's smirk turned into devil scaring grin. "Kukukuku… dear, dear… it looks like you still can't get any of my plans completely," she stated, her voice low and menacing, a habit that had long since been recognized as a sure sign of chaos. "I'm a little glad actually. If you could've figure out the full scope of my plan, then that means I've gotten rusty." She raised her head, staring directly towards the two. For a moment, they could've sworn that her eyes were glowing red, giving her an even more frightening visage. "I assure you two. Come two weeks from now, the lives of not only those four girls… but the guys after them as well, will all be thrown into hysteria."

-X-

(Top deck: meeting room)

There was one thing that Ranma was used to when it came to his curse, and that was how people treated him for it. Very few had ever actually seen him as normal once they found out about it. Often people would think of him a freak merely for having it. Very few had ever accepted him about it. Now it seemed those few had grew by four more people.

Much to his surprise, the only one that of his sisters that had acted in a way that he was used to: Mika. It was something he should've expected, he told himself, considering the girl's child-like tendencies. As soon as the pink haired girl had regained her composure after seeing the curse take effect, she promptly walked up to Ranma-chan, crouched down so that her face was level with the martial artist's chest… and then proceeded to poke it to see if it was real. It was irritating, but at least she backed up as soon as she confirmed it.

The others though… well, they were a lot less active with their reactions. In the end, all they did was ask the usual questions he got about the subject: what had happened, how it happened, what kind of curse was it, etc, etc. Mostly the usual before the others started to introduce themselves. None of them may have been as eventful as his own, but no one really bothered with that detail much.

To say that Ranma was relieved when none of them thought he was a pervert for having a curse that turned him into a girl would have been an understatement. He already had enough of a hard time around Akane because of that, he didn't want to have someone in his family think like that as well. Sure, it may not have been all of them yet, but if they were anything to go by, then chances were high that his remaining four sisters wouldn't be all that weirded out about it either. At least… he hoped they didn't.

"You know, Ranma-nii, since we're going to the magic world, finding a cure for that curse would probably be easy… not that I understand why you actually want to get rid of it." It was his orange haired sister that spoke. Hasegawa Seiki, as she had introduced herself earlier on. There were four things that was easy to figure out about her: she was very easy going, a little hyperactive, an obvious otaku(having compared his curse with over a dozen mangas), and last of all…

"And why wouldn't I want to get rid of it?"

"Because if you can turn into a girl, we can do a lot of girly stuff with you without it looking weird!"

… she was pretty damn blunt.

The boy turned girl stared at his orange haired sister, a blank expression on her features. She blinked… then again… and then once more. "… You're going to have a lot of fun with this aren't you?"

"Yup!"

All the others stared at the two as silence reigned once more. The orange haired girls smile never once diminishing.

…

…

"Perhaps it wasn't such a smart idea to just show your curse like that, Ranma-onii-san." This time it was the blonde girl, Yukihiro Ayane, a girl who, true to her appearance, was a very tomboyish girl, something that Ranma wasn't quite too thrilled with, considering his track record with those kind of girls. Still, she may have been rich, but she was far less spoiled than Akane was. After all, the Tendo heiress may not have gotten much in terms of money and possessions (such things went to the middle sister, and from her own gain), but she was allowed to do whatever else she wanted, which still counted as being spoiled. The fact that the blonde was more level headed than all of the Nerima wrecking crew combined was a big help too… not that that was too hard a quality to meet.

"Yeah… I kinda figured as much," Ranma replied, heaving a sigh. In the very least, he took comfort in the fact that no one had hit him yet, or tried to experiment with his curse. "And I have to do this again for everybody else too."

It was that that rose a question in Yume's head. "Hey… come to think of it…" she turned her head, looking towards a digital clock inlaid upon the wall. It had been a good thirty or so minutes already since their little meeting had started. "It's nearly time for the plane to takeoff. When are the others going to get here?" this got everybody turning to her, processing the question before wondering the same thing themselves. All except one, anyway.

"They're not coming here. We're going to them."

All heads turned towards Ayane. The inquisitive stares were the only thing she needed to see to elaborate. "As it currently stands, the only ones of the ten of us that are currently here in Japan are the people in this room." She raised her hand quickly then, seeing that Ranma was about to ask something. Fixing he glasses, she continued to explain. "Before heading to Britain, there is one more of us we must pick up in China. The other three live in different parts of Britain and are already awaiting our arrival."

It took a while to process the information, but all the rest nodded at it by the end. With that matter taken care of, their little family meeting continued for another half hour before it was forced to a halt, with the announcement of the plane's departure.

With most of the tension gone from when he had first entered, Ranma left the room (still a girl), a small smile present o his face. It seems things were turning out better than he expected it to.

-X-

(Outside the room. At the same time)

"I'm glad you convinced him to come."

Nodoka turned to face Ayaka. They were the only two in the hallway now. Chisame, the only other one of them that had a room in the top deck had left to hers after long glance back towards the meeting room, the others leaving for the second deck after doing the same.

The smaller woman smiled at the taller blonde. "Well… to be honest, I technically forced Ranma into this before I managed to convince him that it was a good idea," she explained, her cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment.

This earned her an odd look from her former class rep. "You… forced him. How exactly?" Ayaka inquired, her voice level, but with a hint of curiosity.

To this, the amethyst haired woman gave an sheepish laugh. "I… actually made a sort of bet with him. I told him that whichever of the two of us won would decide if he went to Wales or not."

Ayaka's eyebrow rose further. "And you won?" was her next question. Truthfully, she wouldn't really have been all that surprised if Nodoka did. She may not have been all that good at hand to hand, but she was proficient enough, especially with her Comptina Daemonia in its evolved claw glove state. But that wouldn't have been enough, if word from her sources in Nerima were true. She could've used some large scale spells, but… that would be too conspicuous, even _with_ the recent magic girl rage in her area. _True _magic _had_ to be kept a secret, so… "how?"

Now it was Nodoka's turn to be curious. "Huh?... well… to be honest he didn't go even close to all out. I didn't really expect me to be able to do as well as I did, so I managed to catch him off guard and put him to sleep."

"And you expected that? Was Haruna in on this?" the blonde woman continued her interrogation. There was a distinctively more forceful edge to her tone.

Now Nodoka was getting a little annoyed, but she answered all the same. "Yes, I did. And no, Haruna knew nothing about that," she answered, just at forceful. "Will that be all?"

So taken aback was Ayaka by the edge in the bibliomancer's tone that she actually took a small step back. They stared each other in the eyes. Both of them sporting blank frowns that bellied that bellied their true emotions.

It was Ayaka that relented in the end. "Yes… that's all I wanted to know," she answered. Her tone, polite but dismissive, as if nothing more had happened other than a simple everyday chat. She entered her room right after.

Ayaka leaned her back upon the door with a sigh, her arms crossed across her chest and a contemplative expression on her face. Something was wrong with Nodoka. She could tell. She didn't know why Haruna or Yue didn't pick up on it, but something was definitely there.

"_Could it… really be?" _she thought to herself, standing up straight before walking towards a small bag that was left at a seat in the corner of the room. Ayane's bag. It was something that she would have once expected from Yue's daughter to have carried, filled to the brim with all sorts of books. The older Yukihiro opened her daughter's bag, reaching in and taking out a dark green book with black lettering. 'The book of demonic artifacts.' A simple title, but to the point, she opened the book out, flipping pages until she found was she was looking for.

"_The Comptina Daemonia. A nail ring with a gem fitted on it that holds a demon within that devours and enhances a person's guilt and despair, clouding their judgement and manipulating them such that they would produce more."_ she read in her mind. Yes, she decided. There was definitely a chance that the demon within that ring was manipulating Nodoka somehow. But… the question was: why only now when she had it for years? She resolved to get that answer as soon as possible.

"I should probably talk to Yue about this."

-X-

(After takeoff.)

Yume exited her room as the plane finally reached a stable flight. It may not have been her first time flying, but it certainly was a new experience for her, not being confined to a seat for the entire trip. She'd make sure to revel in it as much as she could. She headed for the elevator just as her mother exited their room, telling her that she was going to see Ayane who was at the top deck.

She'd asked her mother about it again. About that 'royal magic' that she had used earlier that day. That was always something that was never properly explained in Haruna's work, a fact that she was still rather confused about, in concerns to the reason behind it. She still didn't get an answer. She did say that Ayane would know though. Another fact that confused her. How could Ayane, someone who hadn't been privy to the existence of magic any longer than she had possibly know about the inner workings of royal magic?

She shook her head of the question soon enough. It didn't matter how many times she asked herself. It was better just to ask and be done with it rather than wonder and get confused even more.

The doors of the elevator swung shut and soon it was moving. She walked with a swift stride as soon as it opened, looking for the right room, reading off the names that were on each plaque.

Miyazaki-27… Murakami-28… Yukihiro! There, room 29.

Truthfully, she thought the arrangement of rooms quite heart warming. The rooms assigned to everyone, the significance they held was not lost on the magenta haired girl. To anyone else, it was random and, considering the family connections between some of them, also foolish. After all, one would think it would be best to keep long lost siblings as close to each other as possible for as long as possible. To anyone that knew the Ala Alba, that arrangement held a _very_ significant symbol. They were all arranged into rooms with the same numbers as their seats during their time as classmates. It wasn't just for reminiscing purposes, it showed just how much that time in their life meant to them. A symbol to show that they would never forget their time with one another.

The petite teen made to knock on the door, only for it to swing open before she could even touch it, revealing the surprised face of one Yukihiro Ayaka.

"Oh! Yume-chan, what are you doing here?"

The younger female was quick to put her hand down to her side as she composed herself. "I… wanted to talk to Ayane-nee-san about something," she answered truthfully. She got an understanding reply in return before being asked her mother's whereabouts, to which she answered was soon to be the bottom deck's bar to have some dinner. After getting a thank you from the older woman, she made her way into the room.

It seemed that, despite owning the plane, even the Yukihiro family was treated the same. The room was completely identical to her and her mother's room, save for a few personally brought additions; namely two bags, most likely filled with clothing and other personal paraphernalia for the day long trip. Two seat-belted seats stood at the corner to the right of the entrance, a small table, probably enough to hold two plates was stationed between them. A small cabinet rested at the corner right behind them and right in front of the doorway were two single beds, placed side by side. This was where she found Ayane.

The second eldest of the Springfield children (not by name… yet) had her nose deep within a leather-bound book. Yume couldn't really see what it was about, nor could she get much of a visual of title, seeing as that could've only been viewed from the other side. The gold magic circle on the brown surface of the book was a good hint though.

The older of the two stopped in her endeavour after catching a glimpse of the smaller girl from the corner of her vision. Ayane shut the book in her hand. "Is there anything that you want, Yume-san?" she asked, fixing her glasses into place as she did so.

"Yes… two actually," the shorter girl replied after a short pause. The blonde nodded at her, telling her to continue. "Well first of, could you stop being so formal? I'd prefer it if you just addressed me a bit more casually. Could we start off with that?."

Ayane's eyebrow arched at that. "Well… I suppose. Would simply calling you by name suffice?" Yume nodded in response. "Alright then. In that case, what's your second reason for coming here?"

"What do you know about royal magic?" she asked without hesitation. Her face blank, hiding beneath it a great curiosity.

The blonde's eyebrows shot past her head in surprise. Ayane, it seemed, was in fact familiar with the term. "Royal magic…" she muttered to herself. "You've… unlocked yours?"

Yume nodded in affirmation. "Aunt Haruna said that it was the same as my grandmother's. I'm assuming she meant our dad's mother. When I asked my mother about it earlier, she said that you'd be better at explaining it, so… could you?"

"Uh… oh… of course," Ayane replied. She sat up straight, letting her legs fall of the edge of the bed and placed her book beside the pillow her head once occupied. "I suggest you sit down, this could take a while." Yume did so, taking seat on the other bed so that she could face her older sister. "Well, to start things off, do you have any idea at all about what royal magic is?" Ayane started.

Yume nodded. "From everything that I've read of aunt Haruna's manga, and what is already within the name, royal magic is supposed to be a rare type of magic that exists only within the bloodline of The Lifemaker, the mage that created Mundus Magicus and the first ruler of Ostia. I don't know any more than that."

"I see," was all Ayane said, leaning back a bit with a contemplative look. She then turned her eyes towards the smaller girl. "What you know is more or less the basic of the entire concept. However, despite its name, the existence of royal magic isn't exclusively restricted to only the Ostian royal bloodline." She stopped there, getting up from her bed and walking towards the chair in the corner which had a bag resting on it. She reached into it and pulled out another book, taking it with her and placing it on her lap. Opening it up, she showed Yume a page with pictures of human a silhouette with an orb in its chest area.

"You see…" the blonde continued, pointing at the picture. "All being that are capable of magic –which is more or less anything that's alive– are born with something called a mana core; a central point of energy that distributes the flow of magical energy throughout the body and into spells. In addition to this, all beings are also born with the capability to produce a set amount of mana right as they are born. Something that is a big determinant for a mage's natural magical potential."

"Now, in most cases, a person, even one who is born with the capability to produce more mana than most magister magi, are born with equal proportions of both. However, there are some cases, at least one in a trillion, in which someone is born with one of the two being too large in comparison to the other. This causes a disturbance in the mana flow."

"Those who are born with a much larger mana core than what they are naturally capable of producing suffer from something known as mana diffusion. As the name implies, the magic energy that a person naturally produces is becomes too spread out by the mana core. This makes it very difficult for them to use magic like ordinary people, even with powerful magic catalyst and amplifiers. Are you with me so far?"

Yume looked back at Ayane with a thoughtful look after hearing her question, processing all the new information she had gotten. "So… it's kind of like liquid and gad. The flow of magic within someone with a proper proportion of both is like a liquid; more densely packed and easier to move. Similarly, someone who's core is much larger in proportion will have a mana flow similar to a gas; it's much more spread out, and therefore, makes the entirety difficult to control."

"Exactly! A perfect analogy," the blonde congratulated with a smile on her face.

"But that doesn't answer initial question," Yume stated, reminding the other girl of the reason they were talking in the first place. "I still don't know much about royal magic."

"Ah, yes. Alright then, moving on."

"Well, just as the mana core could be too big to properly distribute a person's mana, the mana a person produces themselves can also be too much for the core. This could have one of two effects. The first and more common of the two is that, in accordance to what you mentioned earlier, the person's mana would become like solid, with the mana being trapped completely within the core. And just like atoms in a solid, the mana cannot flow at all."

"The second possible effect, on the other hand, is the one that you want. In the case that the produced mana is not compacted by the core, it ends up seeking a separate outlet. This action ends with the manifestation of a random ability; some useful, some not, but either way, it is what most people call 'royal magic'. However, the only actual reason for that is because nearly everyone that has been born within the Vespertatia royal bloodline has had this condition. That's why, when counting the number of people born with a mana distribution disorder, those of the Vespertatia bloodline have never been included, because they always have them."

Once more, Yume had adopted a contemplative expression on her features. "Okay… so what your basically saying is that royal magic is nothing more than an ability that acts as an outlet for excess mana?" Ayane nodded. "I… see."

"_That was a bit of a disappointment,"_ thought the magenta haired girl. She had expected royal magic to have been something more… well, unique. Sure, it wasn't like everyone got it, quite the opposite in fact. But it would've been a whole lot more exciting if it were some sort of ancient inherited power rather than a random one. _"Oh well… at least it looks like I lucked out on the draw. Grandma was awesome with her power, and I'm pretty sure she's still alive. Maybe she could teach me,"_ she thought to herself with a smile, at least it wasn't a complete loss, especially if what she guessed her father's royal magic to have been. _"Definitely better than having an instant strip sneeze that's for sure."_

After that thought, and getting some more extra info about how to possibly call up her newfound power, Yume had been just about ready to leave for dinner when a sudden thought crossed her mind. A question that she had asked herself earlier. She turned away from the door and back to Ayane who was putting her two books away to join her.

"Umm… hey, Ayane-nee-san," she called out, getting the blonde's attention. "I'm… kind of curious… how do you know so much about royal magic?"

A confused face was the blonde's first response, but soon it melted into realization. "Oh!... that's right, I didn't tell you guys earlier in the meeting did I?" she asked, the other girl not having a clue as to what the blonde had meant. Ayane let a small laugh escape at her sister's face. "Alright then… let me show you."

The blonde teen walked over to her half sister before turning around to face the entirety of the room. "You see, Yume-chan, even though I've only known about my having siblings for as long as you have, I have known about magic for much longer. Ever since I was ten, in fact. And the reason I found out…" she trailed off as she raised both hands in front of her chest, as if clutching a ball in between them. Within less than a second, the air in between her palms seemed to distort with a dim, shimmering purple light, like shattered glass that was frozen in time. What really got Yume's mind running though, was that the orb of distorted space, was not in fact, an orb, but a circle. A two dimensional circle of rippling light. "Was because I discovered this! My royal magic: Summoning!" she announced with no small amount of pride, throwing the ring of warped space towards the middle of the room, where it quickly expanded.

Then, just as fast as it had appeared, so too had something jumped out of it. It was hard to make out at first, what with the space around still seeming to be disorientated, but soon it was pretty clear what it was, and Yume suddenly wished that she didn't see it. Where there was once nothing but empty space now stood more than five hundred pounds of muscle and fur, in the form of an eight foot long, fully grown lion.

Had she not been panicking at the time, Yume probably would've noticed its groomed mane and armoured limbs, as well as the saddle on its back and the circlet on its forehead. Unfortunately, she was too busy panicking at that moment.

Ayane, being too drawn to what she had brought forth remained blissfully unaware of her spectators state of hysteria . "Yume-chan, I'd like you to meet one of my favourite pets, Konjiki Hoko(1), my pet lion!"

-X-

(Bottom deck.)

It was a good ten minutes before Yume and Ayane came down on the elevator, one of them looking very angry while the other continued to apologize.

"You really should've warned me about that first you know," the magenta haired girl berated. "What were you thinking, summoning a lion of all things! Couldn't you have gone with something less scary! Or in the very least inanimate."

"Oh come on. I already said I was sorry. And besides, Konjiki is a well trained lion, he wouldn't attack anyone, not unless it was provoked first," the other girl reasoned, trying to calm her younger sister down.

"That's no excuse! I know you said that that lion was one of your favourite pets, but how could I have known that?" Yume countered, her tone calmer, but still very much annoyed.

They'd already made it into the bar by now, drawing a few curious glances their way. "Look, I know you meant well, but that was just too –oomph!" the shorter of the two was quickly cut off as she was put to a sudden stop. She turned her head to the direction she was heading to look at what, or who, she had ended up bumping into. Her eyes widened as she did. All her other thoughts going down the drain.

It was, unlike most of those on the plane, a guy. He had jet black hair that spiked outwards at the back, with a large, lone spike of hair at the front that curved like a birds beak. His eyes matched his hair and fit perfectly on his chiselled features. He stood at about the same height as Ranma, give or take an inch or two, and looked to be just as fit. The boy was garbed in a simple navy blue, long sleeve shirt and matching pants, much like those worn as school uniforms.

Yume could only continue to stare at the boys face as his lips moved. But she was too mesmerized to hear anything. It was only after she was shaken from behind that she was brought out of her stupor. The magenta haired girl shook her head to completely clear of her daze.

"Uhh… sorry about that, Yume-chan here can get a little lost in her own world every once in a while. She'll be fine," Yume heard Ayane answer from behind her, getting an understanding nod from the boy in reply.

"Oh… alright then. If that's the case, I guess there's nothing to worry about. Sorry about that, I wasn't quite paying attention," he apologized.

"Huh… uh… no! it was my fault. I… wasn't looking where I was going," was Yume's quick reply, a nervous laugh escaping her as she gave it.

She was given an uncertain look in return. "Well… as long as no one's hurt, I suppose it doesn't matter who's fault it is. If you'll both excuse me, I have to go now." With that, he left the bar with a brisk pace. It was only then did Yume notice the sheathed nodachi strapped to his back.

"_He's from the Kyoto Shinmei-ryu."_

Yume continued to stare at where the apparent swordsman had once been, her face completely blank of any emotion. Once more, she was shaken out of it by her sister. This time, she turned towards Ayane who was giving a wide and mischievous smile. "What?" she inquired, a little creeped out. That reminded her a little too much about a certain mangaka.

The blonde responded with a giggle. "Looks like you've been struck with a case of love at first sight."

The statement caused Yume's cheeks to redden, clearly embarrassed. "Wha… what do you mean by that?" she nearly shouted, backing up a little.

"Oh… come on Yume-chan. I may not be that much feminine for being a girl, but even I know that the look you got right there was the one that people get when they fall in love with someone. Admit it: you like that guy."

Once more, the shorter girl was taken aback, her blush deepening. "What? N… no, of course I don't. H… how can you even s… say something like that. I don't even know the guys name, how could I possibly like him?" she retorted with a stutter.

With a huff, she turned around. Scanning the bar to look for where her mother, her two best friends (Yue's, not Yume's) and Ranma would be at. "So… what you're saying is, if you knew him, you'd like him?" came the blonde's inquiry. Yume chose to ignore that last one and simply walked to where she had found the people she was looking for. It seemed that Ayaka had joined them but was called off by one of the flight attendants; a Chachamaru lookalike.

Ayane joined her, never losing her smile even when her question went unanswered.

-X-

(with Ayaka)

The doors to the flight deck opened and closed with a gentle thud as Ayaka entered the room. It was roomier and more advanced, in comparison to other modern planes, not that that was a surprise. And as if to prove it, the owner of the plane went over to a screen that was mounted beside the door and, with a quick press of a button, turned it on. What appeared on screen was the face of a brunette with coke bottle glasses on her face.

"Hello Satomi, it's good to see you. Might I ask as the reason for your call?" she greeted with a polite smile.

"Good to see you too Ayaka, but it wasn't me that wanted to call you, it was Ku. She needed to talk to you about something."

The former class rep gave the scientist a curious look. "Oh… is that so? Alright then. Put her on screen."

With a quick respond and call, a tanned blonde woman took the place of the brunette. "Nihao Ayaka-chan! Long time no see!" was the Chinese woman's enthusiastic greeting which was returned with a laugh. It seemed that, just like many of class 3A, Ku Fei had still kept a good deal of her childish tendencies.

"Indeed, it has been a while. So what did you want to call me about?"

The quick change from happy to sheepish in Ku Fei's expression caused Ayaka's brow to arch. "Umm… right. Listen… Ayaka-chan, you wouldn't mind if I… brought an extra person along… would you?" the tan blonde asked, unsure.

This made Ayaka's curiosity rise even further. "An extra person? What for? And who for that matter?"

"For my newest apprentice," she answered simply. "He's an orphan I found a few months back in the countryside, so I couldn't really tell anybody about him.

Now her interest was really piqued. "An apprentice? But I thought you said that you wouldn't take any except your daughter until we got back to Mundus Magicus?"

"I know _that_! But this is a special case. Not only is this guy a prodigy that learns nearly as fast as Ne-kun did, but his name is also special," the martial artist responded with a flurry, thoroughly confusing her fellow blonde with her words.

"His name? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly like I said: his name I special."

"And that would be _how_ exactly? What is his name?" Ayaka continued her inquiry, though she was losing her patience fast.

And then, Ku Fei flushed all of that frustration away. "His name is Li Lingshen."

-X-

(1) Konjiki Hoko: roughly translates to 'golden roar'.

And that's the end of that one. Sorry for the long wait, I had a hard time trying to get the interactions to be just as I planned. I have to say though, this arc is getting pretty hard to write, assimilating so many characters into a new world and all. Anyway, I believe there are some profiles to put down.

-X-

Character profile: Yukihiro Ayane

Hair colour: Blonde. A bit on the strawberry blonde side of the spectrum.  
Eye colour: emerald green  
Height- 5'10

Family:-

Parents: Yukihiro Ayaka (mother) Negi Springfield (father)

Siblings: Too long to list by now. She's the second oldest though.

Likes: Animals, the magic world (As in, anything associated with magic. Not just Mundus Magicus), any books that concern the two, learning to properly use her royal magic power, her pets.

Dislikes: animal cruelty (don't worry, she won't feel bad about the Nerima dinner brigade)

Additional facts:

Her given name, Ayane, translates to 'colourful sound'. On its own, this doesn't have much meaning. It is, however, her naming theme for her pets.

If it wasn't obvious enough, she has a lot of pets. Many of them dangerous, trained, and magically capable. (hey, if a wild, albeit magical creature could use it without training, a normal creature should be able to use it with training, right?)

Her royal magic and appearance is based off of two different characters from the same game. Can you guess who and from where?

Teaser facts:

While not the only one of the royal siblings to already know about magic prior to the most others, she is the only one who had unlocked her royal magic ability before the rest found out about it. Yume is the only other who has unlocked it. Due to this, she'll often act as a sort of mentor on the subject.

Royal magic: Summoning- Allows Ayane to summon anything to anywhere, provided there is a clear target and destination. Size of target decides the amount of effort required for summoning.

-X-

Character profile: Hasegawa Seiki

Hair colour: pale orange  
Eye colour: Chocolate brown  
Height: 5'8

Family:-

Parents: Hasegawa Chisame (mother), Negi Springfield (father)

Siblings: Again, too long to list. Fifth oldest.

Likes: Keeping with the fashion trend, computers, the Jusenkyo curses (recently), anything that strikes her as interesting.

Dislikes: her handheld crashing.

Additional facts:

So much like Chisame and yet so different. Her given name translates to 'true character' a reference to the fact that she acts much more like Chiu than Chisame which, in my opinion, is Chisame's true personality.

Blunt as a ball. I believe I mentioned this before.

Teaser facts:

This one I don't want to reveal.

-X-

Character profile: Izumi Chiaki

Hair colour: purple  
Eye colour: reddish brown  
Height: 5'6 ½

(I'm just gonna scrap the family bit for this one)

Likes: Healthy food, exercising, keeping those close to her healthy.

Dislikes: Anybody getting sick, ill prepared food.

Additional facts:

If it wasn't obvious enough, she's health nut. In a good way though. This trait, along with her name and appearance comes from a not so popular anime/manga. Again, can you take a guess.

Her given name means 'a thousand autumns'.

As implied earlier, Mika and her both went to the same school. Try to guess with who else and where. It shouldn't be that hard.

Teaser facts:

Take in everything that I've written here about her. Now imagine what would happen when she meets Akane.

On the upside, she's gonna get along well with Yotsuba.


End file.
